Aidan Curtis
MOUNT Gambier/Berrin Metropolitan Fire Service (MFS) firefighters had a quiet moment to commemorate International Firefighters Day on Thursday, May 4.
The station lowered its flag to half mast and firefighters held a minute of silence as they reflected on all those who had lost their lives fighting fires.
MFS station officer Adrian Puust said it was important to take those moments to look back.
“I think Australia, we’re very fortunate from an urban firefighting perspective on our loss of firefighting lives,“ he said.
“However, the rural side is probably disproportionately represented for the amount of fires compared to urban fires and the amount of deaths sustained.
“Especially when you go back to the ‘50s and potentially before that with the deaths of volunteer firefighters and forestry firefighters.“
He said the day was also a reminder for crews how dangerous the job can be at times.
“We generally talk in a small amount about previous deaths, perhaps even the close calls and to remember our policies, our procedures, our work practices,“ he said.
“And just making sure we keep an eye on each other and follow the procedures.“
Even though International Firefighters Day is a sombre occasion, Mr Puust also took the opportunity to reflect on some of the good parts about being a firefighter in a regional area.
“It’s more community related and a lot heavier community engagement,“ he said.
“There’s far more people that will call into the station because they’re part of the community, they know we’re here, and they’ll call in to get information or to ask if we can do a visit or an education tour.
“A little bit more variety and the ability to involve other agencies, other services.“
He said the variety was one of the best parts about the job.
“You can plan a day and at 8.01am it’s completely shot,“ he said.
“We never know what call we’re going to get, what it’s going to entail, how long it’s going to take, what resources we’re going to need.“
Mr Puust said it was also impossible to go down the street without getting stopped by curious children.
“Whenever we’re down the street, whatever we’re doing down there, we’ll have kids that want to have a look at the fire truck and it’s always a good opportunity to give them some fire prevention material such as colouring in books,“ he said.
International Firefighters Day is held every year on May 4.