CFS News
This month we continue with the second part of a Kangaroo Island deployment carried out in January this year, but first an update on the COVID-19 situation.
We are still operational and will do whatever it takes to remain so. We have suspended training, meetings and any other gatherings in accordance with new CFS / Government rules. In small numbers we still maintain the appliances and equipment to be able to respond as normal - we will just not be as visible as before the shutdown.
KI deployment continued ......
The rest of the first night shift was spent defending a farmhouse and outbuildings from the fire front as it came out of nearby scrub. There were many running grass fires to deal with plus areas burning very close to the house. We managed to keep the situation under control, but it was around 9am before the day shift crews could release us from the area. We arrived back at the Kingscote airport camp around thirty minutes later and after showering and eating breakfast, fell straight to sleep.
Around 3:30pm most of us were woken by bulldozers knocking down the scrub on the airport perimeter. We were then asked to pack our belongings as the airport was expected to be impacted by the fire overnight - we were to return to the town of Kingscote in the morning after tonight’s shift. After dinner there was a huge plume of smoke to the west as the sun was setting - it was going to be another long night. Our first tasking was to deal with any spot fires at the camp as ash was now falling on the airport. We caught up with the rest of the strike group around 9pm, and worked the majority of the night around the centre of the Island in some truly awful fire conditions - scrub fires, ember attack, and house protection. We were again a very tired, dirty and hungry crew when we arrived in Kingscote township the following morning and went to sleep in bunks set up in the school hall.
Around lunchtime we were woken and bussed back to the airport camp, as the fire had changed direction the previous night and it had not been impacted. We all quickly jumped back into our original bunks for a few more hours of valuable sleep. We set off for the third night and found conditions had eased somewhat. The majority of the night was spent around Parndana which, for the second time in a few weeks, was expected to be lost to the fires. This never eventuated, but it was still a busy night and we arrived back at camp once again very tired and hungry, but with a lot of satisfaction that we had completed what was asked of us and we had helped to make a difference.
After a shower and a meal, we were bussed to the terminal for an 11am charter flight to Adelaide, and I arrived back home around 1pm. It was a great feeling to finally get to sleep at home that afternoon.
We train every Monday night for those who may be interested in what we do.
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For all other emergencies dial 000 and ask for “Adelaide, Fire” “South Australia”
See the CFS website for more information, and stay safe.