The plant troop team that built theCotter Bridge Bypass in the week after the January 18 firestorm, which destroyed the historic Cotter Bridge near Canberra.

Representatives of the Army personnel who helped battle the devastating January Canberra fires at the Cotter Bridge Bypass, flooded after August rain in the ACT. They have been nominated for the Engineers Australia Bushfire Recognition awards.

Recovery Team
Bushfire sappers nominated for award

By Cpl Damian Shovell

Army engineers have been nominated for three Bushfire Recognition Awards from the Canberra Division of Engineers Australia.

The engineers who participated in the emergency DACC tasking in January, as a result of the January 18 firestorm that engulfed the ACT, were from 17 Const Sqn, 5CER, 8CER and the ERS and HQ element from IRR, all working closely together.

The three nominations are as follows:

• The ERS, for coordinating defence assets with the ACT Emergency Service Bureau, and for its efforts in fire-fighting, back-burning, and property protection.
• 17 Const Sqn, who with support from 5CER, and 8CER, planned and built fire- breaks at Namadji, and in a Herculean effort, designed and built an emergency bypass road across the Cotter River in under 24 hours, to replace the Cotter Pub Bridge that was destroyed in the fire.
• Capt Damien Maher, 17 Const Sqn, commanded the efforts at Cotter River, and has been nominated for an individual award for his leadership and key role in integrating military and civilian resources to build fire-breaks.

  Members from all four units returned to the Cotter River Bypass to accept their nominations, and to inspect the 17 Const Sqn handy-work, six months on.

  Capt Damien Maher was pleased to see that the bypass had been hard-sealed and is still being used (when it isn’t closed due to flooding) to cross the Cotter River until the main bridge is repaired.
  

  “With the road now being hard sealed, it’ll never wash away,” he said.

  The awards will be presented to the Army engineers and 14 other outstanding engineer groups from the community, on September 4 at an Engineering Excellence Awards dinner – one of the major events in Engineering Week.

  Additional photos from the Canberra Bushfires and Cotter Bridge Bypass can be viewed at http://www.defence.gov.au/news/cbf2003/

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