08/10/2024
The 8th October will long be remembered as the day Mother Nature unleashed her fury on the small rural community of Rappville and the farming communities that surround it.
In the preceding days and weeks there had been a number of active fires throughout the region, the largest of them on Long Gully Road at Drake. The majority of those fires were predominantly under control, until that Tuesday morning, when a fire near Busby’s Flat, being fuelled by strong winds, high temperatures and very dry conditions, became out of control and was heading straight for the small village of Rappville.
What our friends and comrades at RFS and FRNSW were faced with that day was something beyond words. Many have said they've never seen anything like it in all their years fighting fires - it had a mind of its own and nothing was going to slow it down or stop it. It was a firestorm fuelled with dry conditions from months of continuing drought.
Very quickly the NSW Rural Fire Service had declared a bush fire emergency under Section 44 of the Act (Section 44) and many other emergency services and government / non-government agencies were activated.
While SES is the primary combat agency for Storm, Floods and Tsunamis, as many would know, we also provide support and assistance to the other emergency services and the bush fires were no different, as our members rallied to provide that to the NSW Rural Fire Service.
By 4pm Casino SES Unit were tasked to their first support role in helping to set up an evacuation centre in Casino. Many people were displaced by loss and damage to house and property. Roads were closed and power and communication lines were down. Other agencies including FACS, Red Cross, DPI, Local Lands Services and Disaster Welfare were on hand at the evacuation centre to assist those affected with their immediate needs such as a roof over their heads, including their pets, and emotional support.
It was heart wrenching to witness first hand, families walk through the doors with just the clothes on their back, not knowing what to do or where to go. They had lost their home... they had lost livestock... they had just witnessed something you could only imagine you'd ever see in movies. Many people came in to ask about their family or friends that they weren’t able to get in contact with.
What followed over the next couple of weeks was a massive operational and logistical exercise, undertaken by many agencies including RFS, FRNSW, FACS, Parks, Police, Essential Energy, Forestry and SES.
The work that the hundreds of firefighters, from all over the country has been doing is incredible. They deserve every bit of thanks and praise that can be bestowed upon them.
NSW SES has provided staff and volunteers to not only help out in the community, but also in the IMT (Incident Management Team) and EOC (Emergency Operations Centre). It has been a great exercise in multiagency emergency management.
On a more local volunteer level, Casino Unit has been very active and busy in supporting the Rural Fire Service during this period. We have had just over 100 jobs tasked to our Unit and our 2 SES vehicles alone have travelled over 5500 kms since we were first activated on this event. Our small unit of 15 has had nearly every member play a part in some way over the last couple of weeks. We have also had great support from other local SES Units including Tabulam, Kyogle, Lismore, Coraki and Ballina. Some of the tasks SES have been assigned include but are not limited to :
· assisting NSW Police with lighting at an incident
· doorknocking affected communities informing them of where to go to ask for further help, and informing them of health risks from contaminated tank water and asbestos concerns.
· sending teams out to Rappville to deliver food, water and supplies, most of which were donated by the wider community.
· delivering lunch and dinner meals to various staging areas for those out on the ground, sometimes being a 200-300 km plus round trip.
· assisting with airport pick ups and drop offs of various personnel, pilots, IMT members and firefighters who have flown in from interstate to offer their help.
· Assisting with the transportation of various small fire vehicles to the field or to the fire control centre (FCC)
· Picking up supplies and equipment and taking to where they are needed such as sleeping bags and hand sanitisers to Base Camps.
· Admin tasks at the Fire Control Centre for the RFS
With NSW SES being able to help and contribute in these ways, it has freed up the time and expertise of those in the Rural Fire Service to focus on their main combat role of fighting fires. Our members at Casino Unit have forged strong relationships with Casino RFS over the course of this event. We are already talking of doing some training nights together in the future.
The Long Gully/ Busby Flat/ Rappville fires burnt over 74,000 hectares over 8 weeks. Sadly it claimed 2 lives and 44 houses and the Rappville Community Hall. It tried to take out the backbone of Rappville, the pub, three times but locals and the firefighters were able to save it with minimal damage. Many livestock were lost and fences, machinery and sheds were destroyed. Many jobs are affected as the fire also claimed one of the villages biggest employers, TARMAC timber mill. But what it also did was bring out the best of small communities. Everyone looked out for everyone. Strangers became friends. Donations of food, clothing and furniture inundated the makeshift recovery centre and continues to be donated. Many clubs and organisations have hosted fundraising days to provide assistance to those affected. It will take some time for normality to return to many in Rappville, with most vowing to rebuild, but be assured Rappville will rise and grow and be as strong as ever. It takes more than the fury of a horrendous firestorm to keep a great community down.
From all the members at Casino SES Unit, we say thankyou to our other supporting SES Units. We say thankyou to our comrades at Casino RFS and in the Fire Control Centre. We say thankyou to all other agencies, services and organsiations that have played an integral part.
And we say thankyou to the community!
