Hello again from SVRFB.  Well haven’t we all had an interesting time with the associated weather events both locally and further afield.  I hope that people affected by the floods are on the road to recovery.  During this time I have seen the best in people and sadly also the worst.

The Tuesday that everything was happening I left for work early as I knew the creek was going to come up (much to my wife’s disbelief).  After my first job was completed I received a phone call from Lisa to say it was absolutely pouring and that the creek had come up and that I wouldn’t be coming home.  Around the same time a text message went out to say that we had some people within our area that were trapped in their house due to the rising floodwaters and needed some assistance .
Once I arrived at the shed the evacuation process was already underway with one Swift Water Rescue appliance, one red truck and another Swift Water Rescue on its way (we need to take our hats off to these blokes for the wonderful and extremely dangerous job that they do).  Upon entering the fire shed I realised that there was a problem - water!!  Not just on the outside but also the inside  (thanks to the team of people that helped me remove the carpet and water later on that day).  Anyway water in the shed was the least of our worries at that stage, we had four people that needed to be rescued.  Swift Water Rescue removed the people from the flood stricken house and attempted to relocate these people to the adjacent property.  Well the property owners refused permission to drop the flood victims on their place.  I know there can be issues between neighbours, but in a time of need like this one would think there could be some compassion and understanding (so much for community spirit).  The Swift Water Rescue team then had to relocate these people to a more compassionate neighbour down the road .  THANKS BOB!
Well the water went down as quick as it came up, only to reveal the damage and devastation that it had left behind.  This saw the start of the community spirit that this area is known for.  People turning up to help people that they have never even met.
This then started the next phase of action for the brigade.  We were put on standby to help with the flood clean up in Brisbane.  We sent out  two appliances and two crews.  Other appliances from the district were also deployed (around 30 rural trucks with 3 crew in each).  Over the next five days we washed out houses, sheds, schools and sporting complexes.  I would like to thank all that helped on these days as the work was hot, dirty and exhausting.
Two of our fire-fighters were recognised for their efforts by Triple M and are being flown to Sydney for The Legends of Origin football game on Thursday 27 January.  Congratulations Jimmy and Hollie Wade.
On a local front we have been pretty quiet as far as fires go, however, meetings and training are happening as per usual. This year’s training calendar is complete and we are now training on the first Saturday of the month and the 3rd Wednesday of the month.  Anybody is welcome to attend meetings which are held on the 2nd Wednesday of the month.
With all of this rain your grass will be growing, so be proactive with your property maintenance and remember a few things: