Published on the 15th May 2014 by ANSTO Staff
For Andrew becoming a fireman was a childhood dream. “I always saw the fire truck driving around town when I was a kid and I’ve wanted to be a fireman ever since,” he says. As Deputy Captain, Andrew spends about 8-10 hours a week volunteering with the brigade. He is occasionally called away from home to assist with emergencies in other towns. He helped during the 2012 Floods in Yenda (near Griffith), the 2013 Kiama/Gerringong Tornados and the 2013 Wilton Fires. “It’s really fun work, but also rewarding. Everyone in the team gets along pretty well and I love it,” says Andrew. He says the experience has helped build his confidence, especially when it comes to assisting people in need. This coupled with the strong sense of community keeps Andrew coming back. “We spend many hours a week together so naturally we become friends. We know all the people in the community; the Lions Club and Rotary - you get to know a lot of different people.”
It’s that sense of community which prompted ANSTO’s Senior Advisor Herma Buttner and her husband, Senior Researcher Professor Don Kearley, who also works at ANSTO, to volunteer for the NSW Fire Brigade, which is not to be confused with the RFS. Herma and Don signed up to be volunteers at their local Brigade when they first moved to Bundeena in 2007. One of their neighbours had suggested the idea because before arriving in Australia Herma and Don were living in The Netherlands and had no experience of Australian bushfires. Fortunately their community has only been threatened by one bushfire in the time that they have lived there, to which they both responded as part of the NSW Fire Brigade. Their group is prepared to respond to fires in the area during the year, thanks to their training, which begins just before the summer. The volunteers keep up to speed by practicing their procedures during the fire season. Ultimately Herma and Don volunteer for the organisation because of the ‘community spirit’, but it’s also helped them with their own knowledge of the Australian climate. “Now I’m prepared for any bushfire or emergency,” says Herma. Andrew, Herma and Don are among the 50% of volunteers that are also in employment. ANSTO joins Australia in thanking volunteers around the country. Their contribution to the Australian economy is significant, about $200 billion annually, but their value to the community is priceless.
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