RRT HELPS BRING WATER TO FIRE FRONTLINE IN NSW
The Rapid Relief Team (RRT) has helped bushfire efforts in NSW by transporting hundreds of thousands of litres of water to a fire scene where local water access was poor.
RRT used its bulk water carrier to move 576,000 litres of water from Lithgow, Ben Bellen and Lake Windemere back to Hill End, where firefighters were battling a dangerous blaze.
At the scene at Hill End, RRT was also busy supporting 60 firefighters by day and 30 by night over nine nights as they battled the 193km-radius fire.
RRT provided over 3,000 prepared meals. Due to rugged terrain and difficult access, RRT came up with a practical way to get food to those in need – RRT created meal packs and transported them into several locations daily.
RRT Director Lester Sharples said RRT supported firefighters in Hill End, Pyramul and Hargraves as the fire spread quickly.
“As the RFS had warned for some time, after the floods and then the late summer heat there was a lot of undergrowth there to help spread the flames,” Mr Sharples said.
“It’s the sort of fire we usually expect to see at the other end of summer, but it’s probably a sign of what we are going to have to get used to – and that is to be prepared to jump in and help these front line volunteer heroes in floods, fires and other emergencies.
“We were delighted with the success of the bulk water carrier, which continues to help fight fires in areas where there are not abundant sources of water at hand.”
RRT also uses its Rapid Water System – a mobile water pump and tank – to provide fire trucks on the frontline access to hard to reach water.
The $450,000 Rapid Water System has been designed to assist Australia’s firefighting efforts by making previously inaccessible water due to remote locations, available for emergency services to use by pumping this water to a central staging area for use by fire trucks and aerial bombers.
The RRT’s specialist teams can helicopter, tractor or crane in a pump to the water source, usually inaccessible to trucks, and pump up to 75,000 litres of water at a time into a specialised frac tank.
The RWS then pumps this water into up to three fire trucks at the same time, or water bombers at up to 4,000 litres per minute, with the ability to fill about 19 fire trucks with each frac tank.
Mr Sharples said RRT’s volunteers from the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church hope to serve their local community with Christian values of care and compassion.
“These men and women, these volunteers – they are brave people putting themselves out there to protect people and property,” he said.
“The volunteers of RRT strive to support these frontline champions and we will continue to look for new ways to help them as they help the community.”
RRT also provided food and barista coffee for volunteer fire fighters at a NSW Rural Fire Service Association (RFSA) family fun day at Bathurst.
