Crew’s 22 minutes of hell

IN THE early evening of Black Saturday, with fire burning all around them, six Badger Creek firefighters waited anxiously on their tanker in Ainsworth Avenue in Chum Creek.
They were responding to a 000 call to 180 Ainsworth where four people, including two Warburton police officers, were trapped in a house, but the fire made it impossible to get through.
The fire front had passed, the bush was burning fiercely and the wind gusted all around them.
They could see houses burning, hear gas cylinders exploding and the sight of cars still parked in driveways gave reason to fear the worst.
The officer in charge, Lieutenant Kerri Rodway, made the decision not to turn around, but to wait it out.
Ms Rodway said that for her and the crew – driver Len Martin, D’arne Martin, Melissa McGuinness, Mike Thomas and Wayne Veermann – it was the longest 22 minutes of their lives.
“Ultimately it’s up to me to keep them (the crew) safe but knowing that there were fellow emergency service workers trapped in there along with the family … I decided we just had to sit it out,” she said.
“When we heard chainsaws, that’s when I decided we should go in.”
Making their way through blinding smoke, they leapfrogged their way up the road and backed the tanker through the burning bush up the narrow driveway towards the house.
The decision not to turn back, to wait, was worth every anxious minute.
They were greeted with hugs and handshakes.
“They were extremely happy to see us … very relieved,” Ms Rodway said of the officers, the two residents and their three dogs who had survived a horrendous ordeal.
Crew members sprayed water from the tanker on to the police car to protect the occupants from the radiant heat as they were escorted to safety.
Back home, in Badger Creek, a fire had broken out on Don Road near Chalet Road.
The fire station was flooded with calls from panicked residents asking for advice on whether they should stay or go, what roads were open and where the nearest refuge was.
“We had cars packed with people, pets and belongings stopping out on the road saying how do we get out of here, which way do we go, and of course, we can’t give that advice,” said firefighter Doug Scott, who with colleague James McDougall, had remained on duty at the station.
At one stage there were more than 50 people and a menagerie of pets, including a koala, taking refuge at the fire station.
Ms Rodway praised the efforts of Melbourne Water and Parks Victoria employees and local residents whose quick response to the Chalet Road fire contained what could have been a disaster for Badger Creek. “The brigade is very appreciative of what they did,” she said.
There is recognition also by their peers of the special effort of the Ainsworth crew.
In a report to CFA headquarters, brigade secretary Peter Broman said he and other brigade members had no doubt the crew went beyond the call of duty.
“They took a calculated risk with their own safety to help save lives,” he said.
“The seriousness of the situation and the bravery demonstrated was not lost on the crew who demonstrated tremendous support for one another after the incident.”