THE Rosewood Fire and Rescue crew joined firefighters from throughout the region in helping quell the recent bushfires at Miles and surrounding areas.
“On February 16 over 40,000 hectares of land was reported as burning, with 20 structures including 17 homes that were effected in the Montrose and Wieambilla Fire near Tara,” a QFES spokesman said.
“One of the biggest concerns was a fire north of Miles in Myall Park which is about 26,000 hectares in size, the force [of the fire] was great and only 15 percent of the area was contained.
“Among the structures and bushland, local flora and fauna and powerlines were also destroyed by the devastation and impact of the fires.”
A drop in temperatures from ‘heat wave’ conditions and more favourable winds assisted crews in containing the fires.
“However, there is a chance of worsening fire weather throughout the coming weeks,” the spokesman said.
Members from the Rosewood Fire and Rescue Station who assisted in fighting the bushfires were Lieutenant Ben Abraham, Acting Lieutenant Fleur Noll and firefighter Reece Hohnke.
Lieutenant Abraham said that together with his team he worked on the nightshift roster to assist with containing the fires at Myall Park.
He said it was like nothing he had ever experienced before.
“The vegetation in the Myall Park area is significantly different to the vegetation that we have in the Rosewood area,” he said.
“During the assignment, our responsibility was to control the fire with methods such as limiting the fuel to the head of the fire through back burning, and to control the fire to protect the structures surrounding the Myall Park area.
“Concerned for their homes, but extremely helpful, we interacted with many families and locals who reside in the area and we also spent time talking to the local Rural Fire Brigade and other Rural Fire and Emergency Services counterparts.
“Over our first deployment, we were able to assist other crews with containing the eastern side [of the fire front] at Myall Park which is now contained.
“It was a great feeling to be able to help.”
Rosewood firefighter Liam Magoffin joined the second deployment to assist at Miles and Rosewood firefighter Steve Wiltshire joined the third deployment.
Lieutenant Ben Abraham, Acting Lieutenant Fleur Noll and firefigher Reece Hohnke will return as part of the fourth deployment this week.
