A Bonegilla man says the NSW bushfires have been the toughest blazes he'd faced in 45 years as a volunteer firefighter.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Bonegilla Fire Brigade captain Brian Church has completed three separate deployments north in the past month, first to Armidale, then two stints in Batemans Bay.
He is part of the broader effort by Border and North East volunteer firefighters to help tackle the ongoing emergency.
RELATED:
Mr Church, 67, said five trucks from his region went to Batemans Bay, where he was on the fire front for three days.
"We're more used to grass and scrub-type fires, where up there it's forest fires," he said.
"When you're protecting a house you can be within 20 feet of a fire front, with up in the trees above your head burning."
Firefighters on the seven trucks in the area that were protecting houses and a service station complex experienced a massive ember attack.
"I've never seen anything like it," Mr Church said.
"You see the footage on television and then you realise you're right in it.
"You had to almost look straight up to see the top of the fire in the trees."
IN OTHER NEWS:
The brigade captain said experience and preparation helped the firefighters through the challenges.
"I don't think fear came into it at all with me," he said.
"It's all the training we do to protect yourself.
"I've been a firefighter for 45 years and have never been in anything as big as those first three days, but we had a good crew, everyone was well trained and knew what they were doing.
"We went into self-protection quite often, using a nozzle to suck in some cool air from the water."
The crews managed to save all the properties, with Mr Church returning to his camp after 2am then back on the fire ground by 9am.
"It's an eerie feeling to go back the next day," he said.
"Everything was black right around the houses and the service station."
Although exhausting, the deployments proved worthwhile and greatly appreciated by the fire-affected communities.
"You'd get a coffee and pack of lollies and they wouldn't take any money for it," Mr Church said.
"Then you see people clapping as you're coming towards them."
Volunteer Fire Brigades Victoria chief executive Adam Barnett said everyone should be proud of the Country Fire Authority firefighters.
"Volunteers are the backbone of CFA and will again be there to protect life and property as Victoria experiences another long and challenging fire season," Mr Barnett said.
