Home
FireFighting
Motorcycles
Four Wheel Driving Gliders
Scuba Diving General
Stuff Friends
Freaks Links
During my childhood, I spent many an hour with my Dad at the local fire station. As I grew, I pestered him on numerous occasions to let me join the brigade, but he kept giving me all sorts of crazy reasons as to why I couldn’t! Then back in 2003 I was staying with a friend from my nursing course and as she was a member of the Clyde Cardinia Fire Brigade, this stay proved to be a fantastic opportunity for me to fulfil one of my dreams. For about 3 months I trained with this wonderful brigade, then when my accommodation situation changed, (apparently this had something to do with a “red one” being a type of bike…) I joined Doveton Fire Brigade, which later became Hallam Fire Brigade. I was an active member of this brigade for about 3 ½ years. Below are photos that my fiancé took during my initial training at CFA’s South Eastern Training Grounds in Carrum Downs.
After I completed my initial training and I was assigned appropriate PPE (personal protective equipment) and a pager. At last I was able to attend my first fire call. By this stage I was also completing additional competencies with my brigade. At this first fire, I got to see for myself some of what I was being taught in the Building & Structures module.
This first fire that I attended was a park bench in a small park in Endeavour
Hills. My fiancé and I turned out directly and were throwing our gear
on as the pumper mounted the curb and drove into the park. By this stage the
wooden top of the table and benches were well alight. As the staff from the
truck readied the hose and I approached there was a small explosion as air pockets
in the concrete below the table expanded at a good rate with the heat. Looking
back it was kind of like being in a movie as I froze mid air, took a double
take and then kept running towards the fire. I remember telling my Mum about
the fire the next day, I was so excited and she couldn't understand why I kept
going TOWARDS the fire!! Maybe that's why I became a fire fighter and not her!
That first week, my first 3 calls were all in the one street and included what my friend might have called an initiation into the world of fire fighting, my first "dump and burn" car fire.
That same street was the scene of the biggest fire I attended also. The club house of the local cricket club went up in smoke and I was on the hose with the assistance of one of the experienced guys. After this fire, I could smell smoke for days!
