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Fuelling
the air battle
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Aircraftman
Jarrod Dotti and Corporal Scott Harrison at the temporary
heliport established at Nicholls Oval in Canberra where
they refuelled helicopters fighting the ACT fires. Photo
by CPL Belinda Mepham
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WHILE
they managed to keep their distance from the hot zone, Air Force
aircraft refuellers Corporal Scott Harrison and Aircraftman Jarrod
Dotti heard some horrific tales during their stint in Canberra supporting
the bushfire fighting efforts.
CPL Harrison and AC Dotti, both from RAAF Base Williamtown’s
No. 381 Expeditionary Combat Support Squadron, spent more than a
week in the fire-ravaged capital supporting Navy helicopter operations
and civilian fire-spotters and water-bombers.
The pair was called to Canberra nearly a week before the city’s
south-western suburbs were invaded by the ferocious firestorm on
January 18.
They were initially sent to Stromlo and Uriarra to assist crews
fighting the McIntyres Hut fire in the Brindabella Ranges –
the same blaze that merged with the Bendora fire to create the fireball
that ripped through Canberra’s western suburbs several days
later.
“Of course, Stromlo and Uriarra don’t exist anymore,”
CPL Harrison said during a break from refuelling some of the 17
helicopters involved in the fire-fighting efforts.
Both areas were right in the path of the inferno, but by the time
it struck, CPL Harrison and AC Dotti had been re-deployed to a new
refuelling base on a high school oval in Canberra’s north.
The pair worked furiously at the height of the blaze servicing two
Navy Seahawks and two Navy Squirrels, both from HMAS Albatross at
Nowra, as well as numerous civilian helicopters and two massive
aircranes from the United States, the Incredible Hulk and the Georgia
Peach.
It was during this period that both men heard some spine-chilling
tales from the brave chopper pilots.
“The pilots are coming back with some pretty hairy stories,”
AC Dotti said.
“One of the Navy Seahawk crews was telling us that they were
in a valley and basically saw a twister of flames roaring down the
valley at about 30 knots,” CPL Harrison added.
“It was actually pulling out pine trees by the roots and then
the trees virtually exploded. The Navy reckons it was the most awesome
sight they’ve ever seen.
“We also had reports from other pilots coming in and saying
it was absolute mayhem and crazy and that they’d never been
more scared in their life.
“But by the same token we refuelled them and they went out
again to fight the fires.
“The real heroes as far as we’re concerned are these pilots.”.
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