Crescent Head brigade feted in Rural Fire Service awards

On May 27, 2019, a bushfire broke out on Seale Rd east of Kempsey, with the Crescent Head and Gladstone brigades responding.

"This was the second Seale Rd fire for the season when this incident happened," Crescent Head brigade captain Greg Kings told the Argus.

"You wouldn't have wanted the fire to get any closer to town than it was.

"It was quite hot and windy, very dusty and dry - obviously making for tough fire-fighting conditions."

Kempsey Fire Control Centre Superintendent Lachlann Ison provided further evidence of the challenge faced.

"Leading up to the fire season, Kempsey had one-third of its usual rainfall," he said.

Capt Kings, Mary Rogers, Kym Trickett and Cameron Dann were all deployed to the fire as part of the Crescent Head brigade along with two members of the Gladstone team.

Mr Kings said the fire wasn't racing, but still had a steady pace to it.

"The grass fire was what we call a running grass fire, its height reached to around a metre during the time of the incident," he said.

At the fire, Senior Deputy Captain Brian Beilby reported he wasn't feeling well, and swapped trucks with Captain Kings to help redistribute the work load.

Mr Kings then went with Deputy Captain Richard Swan of Gladstone 7 to investigate the active fire front, while Mr Beilby remained behind with Crescent Head to contain the running fire in that area.

Mr Beilby rested in the truck for a short period of time, before firefighter Rogers noticed his deteriorating condition to the point of losing consciousness. His breathing had stopped and there was a loss of pulse.

Mr Rogers quickly called Captain Kings for assistance who returned immediately alone as Dep Capt Swan was now with Group Captain Paul Bourne.

At the time of the incident the fire had died down to a foot in height thanks to the work of the both Gladstone and Crescent Head teams.

Meanwhile, Capt Kings and firefighter Cameron Dann started CPR on Mr Beilby, with firefighters Rogers and Kym Trickett assisting.

All members of the Crescent Head team said there was no time to think as the situation unfolded.

"We just did our job, there was no time to monitor how you're feeling," they said.

"You just have to keep calm and deal with the situation at hand, the training really kicks in."

Capt Kings added the sense of reflection kicked in only after the CPR saw Mr Beilby regain consciousness and resume breathing - as he was transported by ambulance to Kempsey Hospital.

"We all just thought, did that just really happen?" Mr Kings said.

"I won't lie - it left everyone extremely rattled."

For their efforts, firefighters Kings, Rogers, Trickett and Dann have all been awarded the Commissioner's Certificate of Commendation as part of the NSW Rural Fire Service awards.

The fab four told the Argus they were simply doing their job, and felt humbled by the acknowledgement.

"The recognition is certainly unexpected and our feeling is hard to describe," Capt Kings said.

"We don't do this job for the medals or parade, we do it because we enjoy it and want to serve the community."

Firefighter Rogers: "We feel humbled, but the main thing we're just glad Brian is okay and his appreciation and knowing that he's here still is more than enough."

The awards ceremony was scheduled for this month to coincide with St Florian's Day and International Firefighters' Day, however coronavirus restrictions mean it will now be held at a later date with all four members and Superintendent Ison travelling to Sydney for their honours.

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