"Any Exposed Skin Instantly Begins To Burn" | Aussie Firie On Battling Through 16-Hour Shifts Fighting Bush Fires

Triple M bushfire special


Article heading image for "Any Exposed Skin Instantly Begins To Burn" | Aussie Firie On Battling Through 16-Hour Shifts Fighting Bush Fires

Darren Rodrigo/ Facebook

A combination of body and dash cameras plus footage shot on mobile phones has given us just a tiny glimpse of what our country's firefighters are putting themselves through to keep us safe.

Fires had already been burning for weeks when New Year's Eve and the days immediately afterwards saw already horrific conditions escalate to the point of mass evacuations.

It was so unbelievable, says volunteer firefighter Darren Rodrigo, that it far exceeded the NSW Rural Fire Service's modelling for the very worst case scenario.

Rodrigo was one of the many brave men and women who put themselves on the line to contain fires over the Christmas break.

This morning, he spoke to Triple M about what it feels like to drive into the flames.

Listen below:

Rodrigo, whose heartfelt Facebook post about walking through "kilometres of blackened, silent earth" went viral in late December, also explained how exhausting the last few weeks have been.

After a particularly gruelling 16-hour shift, the Sydneysider even had to pull over on the drive home to have an hour's sleep before continuing home to his own bed.

In an in-depth special podcast, Triple M's Liam Flanagan also speaks to Seven News journalist Tom Chadwick, who was on the ground as fires tore through East Gippsland last week.

One of many locals he spoke to was Craig Calvert, who spent 13 hours defending his property in Sarsfield.

"The way he describes what he'd been through, fighting this fire for 13 hours straight, I said... we need to find this guy, we need to get there," Chadwick explained.

"The roads were closed, we had to take some backroads. Once we got there... That's when the reality hit us."

Hear Triple M's full Bushfire Special below, and find out how you can help those affected by the bushfires here.

Make sure you download the Triple M app from iTunes or Google Play to stay across everything Triple M.

Triple M Staff

8 January 2020

Article by:

Triple M Staff




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