VOLUNTEER firefighters deployed to assist in the bushfire recovery effort on Kangaroo Island were treated to the ride of their life aboard the Australian Defence Force (ADF) C-27J Spartan yesterday.
Due to commercial pilots exhausting their hours throughout the state, the ADF were called to the Mount Gambier Airport to pick up 13 volunteer firefighters for a five-day deployment to the island.
Landing at the regional airfield at around 12.30pm yesterday, the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) aircraft – operated by the No. 35 squadron – remained on the tarmac for close to two hours before transporting the volunteers to the island.
Flight Lieutenant Andrew Willersdorf said they have been involved in the transportation of members of the ADF, Country Fire Service (CFS), Country Fire Authority and the New South Wales Rural Fire Service since the start of the new year.
“Over the course of the RAAF involvement we have transported more than one million pounds of cargo in support of the government agencies and emergency services,” Flt Lt Willersdorf said.
“Today we are focusing on Kangaroo Island and relieving some of the volunteers there with some more volunteers coming out of Mount Gambier.”
Donovans CFS captain Mike Ciegesser was one volunteer to board the plane and said it reflected the seriousness of what was currently happening in the country.
“There is a continual rotation of volunteers at the moment, so we’re relieving people that came back the other day and there will be more who go after us,” he said.
“It’s a national disaster and it makes sense that everyone gets on board like the ADF have,” he said.
Flt Lt Willersdorf said it was the first time the No. 35 squadron has been involved in a bushfire operation in Australia.
“We have been basically trying to do our best to get in and out of areas with what the communities need as the conditions improve – smoke visibility has been challenging” he said.
“The type of loads we have been carrying have been very diverse, particularly with evacuees, but it’s been a great opportunity to put the training we have completed into action.”
Having been involved in recovery missions right across the country over the last two weeks, Flt Lt Willersdorf praised the way the communities have banded together in the wake of significant devastation.
“It’s been very humbling to see the community spirit of the evacuees and the volunteers and we have just been happy to assist where we can.
“For us we are thankful for the volunteer firefighters, this is just our job and it’s nice when people appreciate what we do, but they are the ones on the ground doing the hard work.”
CFS deputy commander Wayne Richardson said the relationship that has been built between the CFS and ADF throughout their involvement has been fantastic.
“The defence force have been really cooperative with all the emergency services across the country, they have been more than happy to help and at the moment it does not matter what colour uniform you wear, it’s all about helping these communities,” he said.
“Commercial airlines pilots have exhausted their airtime, so the ADF are being utilised to fill that gap, given the sheer size of the deployments that are going on.”
