General News
24 October, 2025
Explanation for memory story
One of my stories of a passed era of fire suppression was published a few days ago by WMT, and I wanted to explain some aspects of the narrative.
In the 1980s I ran a crew of specialist / trained hard men employed to chase bushfires in the wild country where machine access was difficult or nearly impossible anywhere on crown land in Victoria.
When a fire happened in a trying piece of a mountain the mobile support crew would be summoned . This crew was based with the former Forests Commission at Stawell and there was a similar crew at both Benalla and a third one in Gippsland.
We would motor to the district and mostly camp at a known fire camp which could be a footy ground or school. Fire trucks and eating facilities would be set up and a shower might be available.
The fire or fires would be attacked by my crew using rakhoes, axes, chainsaws by creating a bare earth break of a metre or so wide. This would end up circling the burn or meeting dozer breaks on the lower slopes. Fifteen men, mostly men in those years made up a crew and they had to work hard to save the fire from attacking community assets or more valuable bushland.
The fire could be anywhere in Victoria and might take us some hours to arrive, often at night. To cut a break in this style could make up to 1500 metres a day which does not sound much, bearing in mind the nature of the terrain, ie thick bush, serious slopes and distance from where we would leave our vehicles. Or, go in by helicopter and make a start from the drop off point. It was different scenery every day and different fire intensity during each day.
Mostly it was sheer hard work in the heat of Summer and with heavy boots, water bottles and fully clothed.
The crew was made up with university students, farmers, shearers and capable workers and some returned each season and some who played football would have their summer training program laid out and be super fit from the strenuous working up and down steep hills.
Only once did I work with another MSC. Years later I came across a film about an American similar crew to ours. They were all caught in fire and killed.