The faces of the Gloucester Rural Fire Brigade have changed with 70 per cent new members donning the fireproof tunic heading into this season.
Of the new members, two are completely new to fire fighting while the rest have transferred in from other brigades.
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Along with the renewal in membership, there has also been a shift in leadership with Neville Moore taking on the captain role.
Neville is one of the transferred-in members, having been at Krambach before moving to Gloucester. Although he's relatively new to town, he's an old hand at fire fighting being involved in the service for more than 30 years.
"It's a family thing. It's just what we do," Neville said.
Neville's time has not just been spent in the volunteer Rural Fire Service (RFS), he also spent 19 years in a retained role with NSW Fire and Rescue. The unexpectedness of being a fire fighter is part of what has kept Neville involved for so long.
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"You never know when you're going to get a page. You could get home at the end of your work day and have just sat down to relax when the call comes in," Neville said. "You say goodbye to your family and go. You have no idea how long you'll be gone for."
According to Neville, most of the call outs are off the back of property burns, although they do get the odd lightning strike fire. The brigade also attends structural fires and car accidents.
He said that traditionally the busiest time of the season for the RFS is when property owners are burning off leading up to the implementation of fire permits. The quietest time is when permits are suspended. Gloucester had 12 call outs in August and 11 in September.
Also taking on a new leadership role in the brigade as senior deputy captain is Jason Slade. And he's no stranger to the world of fire fighting either. His interest in signing up started after he watched news coverage of the 1994 NSW bushfires. But it wasn't until 1997, when the fires hit Perth - near where he was living - that he made the decision to get involved.
"I thought it would be an interesting thing to do," Jason said.
Jason has spent 19 years involved in the fire brigade - 10 years in WA Fire and Rescue and nine years with the NSWRFS - the last four of which have been in Gloucester.
While both are hoping to not see another fire season like the 2019/2020 Black Summer, they are preparing for a season of numerous call outs.
"There's a lot around here that didn't burn," Jason said. "We could be busy with grass fires. Off the back of the drought there have been less cattle to keep the grass down."
Unlike the NSW Fire and Rescue Gloucester town brigade, who get paid a retainer, the Gloucester Rural Fire Brigade members are strictly volunteers. And even though they both service the Gloucester region, their territories are different. Fire and Rescue cover the township within Gloucester River, Boundary Road, Jacks Road and the railway line. The rest of the region outside of that is covered by the RFS.
Gloucester Rural Fire Brigade's new crew consists of captain Neville Moore, senior deputy captain Jason Slade, deputy captain Kevin Adams, deputy captain Robert Stirling and fire fighters Isaac Earle Broadley, David Ironfield, Jo Fitzpatrick, Chloe McCauley, Trish Threadgate, Craig Bates, Bill Ryan, Brett Gibson and Dennis Wamsley.
Gloucester Rural Fire Brigade is always looking for volunteers. If you're interested contact Neville on 0408 430 409 or Jason on 0477 718 859 or send a message via the Facebook page.
Anne Keen
Anne has been a journalist with the ACM (Australia Community Media) since 2016. She primarily works at the Gloucester Advocate but also contributes to the Manning River Times.
Anne has been a journalist with the ACM (Australia Community Media) since 2016. She primarily works at the Gloucester Advocate but also contributes to the Manning River Times.
