26th September, 2024.
Two firefighters from Wollondilly have put their lives on the line to help fight the wildfires in Canada. Rural Fire Service firefighter Matt Duncan of Tahmoor and Group Captain Andrew Beville of the RFS Southern Highlands Brigade departed Australia for Canada in July. They join a crew of over 100 firefighters from around Australia and New Zealand, who in their roles of air attack supervisors, incident managers, fire behaviour analysts as well as front-line arduous firefighters, who specialise in remote area firefighting, will provide support and expertise to those facing the devastating impacts of wildfires, that are unfortunately all too familiar to the residents of Wollondilly. Australia has a history of helping out by sharing knowledge and resources to fight fires overseas, and this is reciprocated during our own times of need. Canadian Firefighters travelled to Australia to assist during the 2019-2020 bush fires, and this latest effort, facilitated by the Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council's National Resource Sharing Centre will provide much needed relief and support. The generosity and selflessness of firefighters like Matt and Andrew is something we can all be proud of.