Craig Hill
KC Hill
Paladin
Oracle of DelphiHail the Volunteers
September 25th 2006 07:24
Yesterday, the start of the 2006 Sydney fire season reminded me of Wednesday the 16th November 2005, a blistering hot day with gale-force winds and the Garigal National Park, which comes right up to the boundary of the school I work at was tinder dry. A fire started in a nearby valley and soon the school was under direct threat.
As if from nowhere hundreds of firefighters, fire appliances, support and control staff, police and even a helicopter (as well as the inevitable TV crews) appeared in the local streets. A fire control officer directed an appliance into our school grounds, assessed the danger, directed us to evacuate the children, and filled our gutters with water. All the volunteer firefighters were very calm, focussed, well organised and knew exactly what to do.
This event made me marvel at the whole system of volunteerism that lies hidden beneath surface of everyday life in Australia. At present there are approximately 70,000 volunteer firefighters in NSW alone. Most of us only notice them when they are needed in a crisis, yet they are always there, training, preparing, and working quietly in the background. To me, these volunteers are the unsung heroes of Australia. They embody that unique part of the Australian psyche which believes in selfless service, cooperative action and a never-say-die attitude, and it is these people who have inspired me to write a children's book which tells the story behind the firefighters we see battling the flames each summer.
This book: Unsung Heroes: Volunteer Fire-fighters will be published by New Frontier Publishing in 2007.
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Go to Craig Hill's home page for information about corporate training courses, university preparation courses and writing services available
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