On Friday afternoon, at 2.44pm, a message went out to local residents warning of multiple bushfires around the township and advising residents to “seek shelter as the fire arrives”. This very sobering message was sent out from the NSW Rural Fire Service, who were already in attendance at the three fires ignited by a high voltage power pole that had snapped at its base north-west of Harden.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Superintendent Andrew Dillon, District Manager of the NSW RFS was very proud of the way the local RFS members responded to the emergency and along with every brigade from Harden, there were units in attendance from Cootamundra and Young, around 20 units in all. Also in attendance were six Fire and Rescue crews and a fixed-wing plane.
“Peter Holding, Terry Brown and Steve Shea provided exceptional fire ground leadership,” Superintendent Dillon said. “The RFS and Fire and Rescue crews did extremely well to contain the fires quickly, with no reported loss.”
In fact, the crews had contained the fire, by the time “Thor’, a DC10 Hercules, which had been diverted from a fire near Wellington, arrived over Harden.
“We were very lucky to have Thor on stand-by” Superintendent Dillon said. “The Hercules carries 16,000 litres of water, so if the fires had broken containment, Thor would have assisted greatly.”
Peter Holding, one of the three fire ground leaders, was quick to praise the crews that attended on the day.
“The RFS, the Fire and Rescue crews and the volunteers – we all work as one team” Mr Holding said. “We would have no hope without the office staff, they get the warnings out there and direct us to where we are needed.”
Superintendent Dillon says that although Harden was lucky this time, residents need to be aware of high fuel loads around and to be vigilant.
“Everyone needs to be aware when a Total Fire Ban alert is issued,” Superintendent Dillon said. “Welding or grinding, particularly in the afternoon, are dangerous, and people need to be aware that there are heavy fines and penalties for conducting these activities.”
