Monthly:October 2025
Closed Circuit Relay Pumping 26 October 2025 Today we were training with Fire and Rescue Lawson (P359 from memory) and Lawson RFB.The objective was to supply water to P359 using two RFS Cat 1 tankers in closed relay mode and maintain water continuity. In real life this is what we would have to do if a Fire and Rescue pumper was attending a structure fire and was away from a hydrant supply. The first exercise saw Lawson 01 at the […]
Boar’s Head, Moss Pit And Skinny 25 October 2025 Two weeks ago the ferocious winds prevented us from doing Boar’s Head and Skinny: today was a grey benign day!Boar’s Head is always a fun abseiling trip. Abseil 01 along a wall is one of my favourite. The slot was uneventful but I could feel the breeze channelling between the walls. Abseil 02 and 03 were combined into one abseil as space is limited at the bottom of abseil 02. We […]
Mount Marlo Fire 24 October 2025 The fire that was discovered last Monday during our RART standby did grow: Parks had it under control by Wednesday but the fire breached the containment lines. A crew from Blue Mountains RAFT was requested for Thursday and Friday but only required on Friday. This was a typical mop-up job: Parks gave the two RFS crews the west flank to check. The pink team would land on the North pad and make its way […]
RART Standby 20 October 2025 I was on a Rapid Aerial Response Team (RART) standby: the first one in at least five years and a half! There had been some lightning on Friday and with the weather conditions for Monday, warm and windy, there was a small chance that there would be an ignition somewhere in the Sydney basin. We met at Sydney Helicopters in Castlereagh, had our two briefings with the aircrew and the RFS state air desk and […]
Tranquility 17 October 2025 After quite a disorganised start of the day, Adam and I set out on a fire trail and missed a turn because we were talking… We decided to bushbash and that did not work well either! We returned to the fire trail and continued until we could see the creek of interest… We traversed a small hanging swamp and followed the messy creek line until we could find an in! We stepped into a secluded rainforest […]
Jugglers Canyon 11 October 2025 I had put my hand for Boars Head but the 50 km/h winds gusting to 70 km/h put a stop to that! We also had a beginner among our midst so Jugglers Canyon was a nice proposition! I had been there in July for training on a very cold day – I think I had four layers of clothing and it was barely enough! Today was perfect: no wind and the coolness of the shade!I […]
The Old Sawmill – DRAFT 10 October 2025 It has been some seven years since I have been to the old sawmill: the perfect walk for a mild afternoon. After a car shuffle, we took the track that follows the original tramway/cable incline to the bottom of the gully. From there it was a short walk to an unnamed creek where the sawmill was built. Cables, carriage wheels, crank shaft and other parts are scattered on the rainforest floor. The […]
Devil’s Hole VR Practice 7 October 2025 It has been a while since we touched the lightweight gear so this practice was welcome! We set off to Devil’s Hole: the first challenge was finding the anchor… We headed off in the general direction, walked around a pagoda (a bit dodgy so a handline was installed). Eventually we reached some old rusty but solid chains. I was the first one to abseil and the Devil did his deeds! I descended to […]
A Dip In The Nepean 4 October 2025 I did not know there was a Breakfast Creek in Glenbrook: a walk in a creek made good sense on a forecasted hot day! We left Euroka Clearing and followed a creek that did not inspire me: there was water but it was not flowing… I should come back after a downpour!We reached an area that had been burnt and soon we were going down a steep gully to Breakfast Creek. This […]
