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A
chainsaw crew from 27 Sqn, 5CER, clear a track in the devasted
hills near Canberra on January 19.
Photos by Cpl Belinda Mepham, Army newspaper
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Army
in fight to stop fire attacks
By
Cpl Alisha Carr
Army assistance to the ACT was at the bushfire’s front line
less than a day after firestorms devastated Canberra’s western
suburbs on January 18.
The
horrific fires killed four people and destroyed 530 houses, including
the homes of six serving ADF personnel – one Army, two Navy
and three RAAF.
Land
Commander Maj-Gen David Hurley visited Army personnel at the ACT
Emergency Services Centre and at the scene of the fires, saying
the efforts of the soldiers involved were to be commended.
“From
first impressions everyone has done a great job here,” he said.
“They
have helped out immensely in terms of current operations and planning
– being able to task people and equipment.”
He
said the soldiers had responded to the situation in a very professional
manner with the Army’s presence benefiting the whole operation.
Lt
Lauren Sanders, 27 Fd Sqn, 5CER, saw the devastation first hand.
“Soldiers
from my unit were primarily involved in clearing roads, tackling
things from dead, crispy kangaroos to burnt horses,” she said.
“It
was total devastation. Everything was smouldering. The homes we
saw were gutted. They looked like a pie without the filling –
it was really awful.”
OC
ERS IRR Maj Paul Murphy led the Army involvement in the crisis.
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A
satellite image of the ACT with the red areas showing the
extent of the bush fire devastation after January 18.
Image provided by RAAF
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“A
team from 17 Const Sqn have been here since January 14, before the
fires were severely threatening the residential areas,” he
said.
“They
have been actively cutting fire trails the entire week.”
On
January 19, the Army was requested to send down chainsaw teams.
“We
have chainsaw teams from 5CER, 8CER, 17 Const Sqn and ERS. Because
ERS has fire-fighting appliances and they are specialised in responding
to emergencies, they have brought their gear with them – so
we have a fire-fighting capability on the ground also.
“They
have not been involved with the actual fighting of fires as yet,
this being because of the fact that when things were pretty intense,
the civilian agencies had all of their assets fighting fire.
“They
had no reserves and no rotation. We held our guys back as a reserve
for them.”
He
said the main role of the chainsaw teams was to re-open routes and
roads.
In
addition to the engineer units providing support, 26 Tpt Sqn provided
refuelling and water trucks.
He
said the troops had performed very well under extreme conditions.
“The
plant operators have been working busily – they actually had
to abandon three pieces of plant equipment as the fire approached.
“The
guys actually retrieved the plant this morning – until today
they have been unable to get to it, although it remained untouched
by the fire.”
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