Fighting bush fires tough work

25 February 2016

Walls of fire, extreme heat and a huge amount of physical labour were just some of the things Taupo District's rural fire manager dealt with in the Tasmanian outback this month.

Roger Nelson has returned from fighting fires with a new appreciation for just how out of control fire can get, he said on his return last week. He was one of 43 New Zealand firefighters taking part in a three-week deployment to help combat the fires burning in north-western Tasmania. Mr Nelson was one of those leading a team based in the small town of Arthur River. He said he was tired but fulfilled, equipped with new skills, better fitness and amazing memories.

It was a massive learning experience and well worth the visit - I'd go back at the drop of a hat, Mr Nelson said. Working together with a group of men and women I'd not met before and that camaraderie was amazing. We worked really well as a team. They were a great bunch of people.

Mr Nelson worked seven 12 hour shifts straight before having two days off and then repeating it over three weeks. He was helicoptered in each day and winched down to chosen locations.

He spent a lot of time using hand tools and it was a physically demanding task. I'm a lot fitter than I was when I left New Zealand - it was pretty heavy going, he said. There was a lot of steep country and a lot of long days.

He said the scale of the fires altered his perception of what he dealt with in New Zealand. It's just mind blowing. The fires we have here in New Zealand are miniscule when you compare them. The first day we were there we dealt with a fire that was 19km long. Flames were up to 25 metres high and relentless, he said.

At one stage Mr Nelson and his crew went to leave the site of a fire for the evening and were confronted with walls of fire on each side of the road they needed to drive down. It had jumped the road - there were 15 to 20 metre flames on both sides of the road coming toward us, he said. It died down briefly and that's when we jumped into our truck and went through the middle of it.

However, Mr Nelson said he and his crew were never in serious danger and took all the necessary precautions. We were very aware that we were in terrain we weren't used to and safety was paramount, he said.

He was very happy to be reunited with his family. I missed them like hell. They all met me at the airport. Catching up with them was awesome.

The skills he learned in Tasmania would be transferable, he said, and he would be passing on much of the knowledge he gained with the crews he managed in the Taupo District.

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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Lisa Nairne Communications Manager 07 376 0762 027 839 8410

Vicki Waterhouse Communications Advisor 07 376 0718 027 484 2549

Taupo District Council

www.taupo.govt.nz