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Summer Crew worker shows true value

The Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) is currently recruiting Project Firefighters or "Summer Crew" for the coming fire season.

By Department of Primary Industries - 10th September 2003 - Back to News

Project Firefighters are the backbone of the Department's fire suppression activities and are hired each summer to help suppress wildfires, supporting the Department's permanent specialised firefighters in the region.

Jessica Hunt from Briagolong is a typical member of the Summer Crew. Jessica is studying Chemical Engineering at Melbourne University, but last summer, she worked as a Project Fire Fighter for the Department of Sustainability and Environment. Like a lot of people in the Gippsland region, she absorbed a lifetime’s experience over the 60 days of the Bogong Fire Campaign.

Jessica said she has always been interested in firefighting and, living in a rural community, she has been involved with the local CFA since she was 11 years old. She became an operational fire fighter at 16.

"I was looking for holiday work last summer and applied to the Department for the Summer Crew and got on," she said.

"Both my brothers had been on crews before and it was something I wanted to do too."

Jessica was deployed to fires at Omeo, Cann River, Surveyor’s Creek and Dargo, working on rakehoe lines, operations at the dozer base in Omeo and on radio reports and weather observations with fire crews.

"I worked right through the Bogong fire with various crews, including the CFA," Jessica said.

"I was in Omeo on Australia Day when a backburn got away from us which was a bit scary, but everyone was fine."

"I would love to do it again if I can next summer."

Maffra Catchment Management Officer Les Kewming worked with Jessica at the fires and was full of praise for the way she worked and her contribution to the crews she worked with.

Les said that when things got busy up at Dargo, Jessica was asked to take all the weather details and keep accurate and up to date information flowing to the crews.

"She did a fantastic job, she just took it on and ran with it," Les said. "We had the weather reports we needed on time all the time."

"She was excellent under pressure, especially when we were on the Brewery Track sector and the fire was on the edge of the track. We had to hold it there and wait for the dozers to catch up on the control lines. It was vital that we held the fire and having Jessica there to take the pressure off was a huge relief for us."

"She really showed the worth of the summer crews. They surprise you all the time with what they can achieve in support of the teams out there on the fire line."

DSE has announced that late applications for the PFF positions will be accepted and encourages anyone who would like to apply to contact their nearest DSE office for an application form.

Source: http://gippsland.com/

Published by: news@gippsland.com

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