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So after a long hard day of chainsawing and moving logs in the bush we were all just about to head home for the day, some of us already had, when the chorus of pagers went off. Mt. Forbes 41 were on scene at a grass fire along the Cunningham Highway at Willowbank and requesting additional resources. All available crews and appliances turned out – Chucka, Bull & Myself brought up the rear with 52.

Upon arrival we discovered a couple of hectares well alight and a few appliances already on scene including urban pumper from Karana Downs, 644A, in action – property protection. We quickly joined the mix and within a short period of time the fire was knocked down.

The cause of the fire then became apparent. A wheel had come off a towed trailer, the chassis being dragged along the highway for some distance. The resulting sparks ignited a fire on the side of the roadway which quickly swept up the hillside.

After a thorough inspection of the blackened out edge, we filled up what little water we used and called it a day.

With it shaping up to be a busy fire season by 9am in the morning the Brigade was again called to a fire, this time at Swanbank, in bushland opposite the power station. Crewing first vehicle on the scene we knocked down as much of the fire as we could get access to as other appliances began arriving.

With extreme difficulty in getting vehicles to the fire it was mostly down to slugging it out on foot with blowers, rakehoes and knapsack sprayers.

Unfortunately the fire managed to get out of the black and jump the train tracks entering an area of lantana brush where hand tools were simply inadequate and it quickly took off.

Mt Forbes were also responded and by this stage we had managed to get a light attack down the train tracks to knock that part of the fire down.

With both brigades on scene we were able to contain the rest of the fire and get back to station for a well deserved lunch!

The state firefighter championships was recently held at Limestone Park in Ipswich. The events take place over three days and include a large safety expo in addition to the the firefighter championships. The winner runner up and third place getter will now compete in the Australasian competitions to be held in October at Rotorua, New Zealand.

1st    Monto
2nd    Caboolture
3rd    Kilcoy
 
Champion Firefighter    Steve Avis
 

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Safety Expo   Competition Day 1   Competition Day 2

This afternoon Ripley Valley crews responded to Kerners Rd Yamanto signalling the start of the fire season. A full brigade response was required and although there was heavy fuel loads with the fire going well the recent rains made it surprisingly boggy in some areas. Unfortunately I managed to sprain my ankle not long after arriving and only have a few pics.

Over the weekend of 20th and 21st June the 2009 South East Region Firefighter championships were held at Limestone Park in Ipswich with the winning teams competing against other regions in the State championships to be held in a few weeks.

 
1st    Mt Tamborine
2nd    Marburg
3rd    Laidley
 
Champion Firefighter    Danny Edser
 

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Day 1   Day 2

Just prior to 5pm today crews were called to multiple reports of a house on fire in Gilingham St Woolloongabba. The Queenslander was well involved upon arrival and crews went into immediate action protecting exposures. A 2nd alarm was called with multiple appliances, control vehicle and senior officers responding. The fire was eventually brought under control and investigations continue as to the cause of the blaze.

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At approx 1pm fire crews were called to reports of a fire in the new bar of the Norman Hotel at Woolloongabba. On arrival a section of the hotel was well involved and a second alarm was called. Crews quickly went into action bringing the fire under control and preventing it spreading to the older historic part of the structure, which suffered smoke and water damage only. The bottle shop and beer garden however were destroyed. Initial reports indicate sparks from a grinder ignited a stack of polystyrene boxes in an area under construction. One worker was transported to hospital with minor burns.

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Recently I had the opportunity to watch some live fire training at the Live Fire Campus, part of the Queensland Combined Emergency Services Academy at Whyte Island. On this day a scenario was being conducted for Station Officers undergoing a tactical management course involving a MVC at petrol station with large fuel spill + nearby gas cylinders and storage tanks. Known as Armageddon because the participants get everything thrown at them.

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After the previous day’s efforts in The Gap we enjoyed a comfortable night’s rest at Taigum and first thing in the morning readied our vehicles and proceeded to the Arana Hills staging area.

Throughout the night I was picked up by a work colleague and went into Brisbane City to do some scheduled maintenance work for a couple of hours. At about midnight whilst I was listening to all the reports of major flooding yet again throughout South East Queensland and that the QFRS USAR swift water team had been activated. The homes without power count on the Energex website was at 12,800 when I last saw.

At the Arana Hills staging area we learned that Ipswich had been hit with major flooding with the people of Rosewood and Thagoona in need of assistance. There was in some areas reports of more than 200mm in about 2 & 1/2 hours. All Ripley Valley units were re-tasked from working in the The Gap to a staging area at Ipswich SES headquarters.

We spent the morning sandbagging at the SES then loading cars for residents to do their own damage control. At one point Helitack 671 was brought in to assess the critically damaged areas from the sky.

At about lunch we got the call to head over to Thagoona which getting to was a challenge in itself. Most of Ipswich seemed like it was still under water and a very long route had to be taken but we got there eventually.

Like The Gap the day before, again we went door to door checking on residents to see what assistance we could render spending the good part of the afternoon ripping up wet carpets and generally helping those residents who needed it the most with their severely water damaged homes.

Another severe weather system had been forming all day and in the very late afternoon weather conditions began to deteriorate. Rain and lightning began bearing down on us as the order was given to evacuate all QFRS personnel from the area.

After a short break at the SES headquarters in Ipswich and after what has been a tiring two days, we all headed back to the station to clean up the vehicles and go home for some much earned rest.