Leading DEM Fire prevention – from our dedicated firies

Mick McGrath, Bradley Day and Steve Day are three of our valued employees who this year were on the front line fighting the immense bushfires that have ravaged NSW, Queensland and Victoria. They’ve each spent years helping our communities with emergency fire and rescue.

“It’s one of the reasons that I joined DEM Fire,” explains Mick McGrath, DEM Fire’s Compliance and Accounts Manager. “When you put enough fires out… you want to do everything you can to prevent them.”

“I joined when I was about 20,” says Mick. “My father was a firie and so was my uncle. I do enjoy providing a service to the community, that really makes a difference. When others are running away, we’re running towards it.”

Mick was in Glen Innes and the Blue Mountains this summer, where bushfires raged in November and December. “I’m with a strike team and we do 12-hour shifts. We’re based in a hot spot and respond when a fire comes through, but fortunately we didn’t lose any homes. The community response was incredible. They were very appreciative.”

Fighting bushfires is just one aspect of Fire and Rescue NSW, and Steve’s team also frequently responds to other incidents. “We’re emergency response, so we’re often first on the scene. We deal with structural fires – homes, high rise and other buildings – and with storms. We might need to secure the scene if a power pole is down or there’s a gas leak. And we frequently attend vehicle accidents where, for instance, we help get people out of crushed vehicles.”

Steve initially joined Fire and Rescue NSW to learn new skills and challenge himself… but his motivations have shifted. “Now it’s definitely the community and to be able to help people… when we get trapped people out of a car for instance. It doesn’t always go well, but when it does, it’s a very good thing.”

He’s been a firefighter for a few years now and believes this year’s fires are the worst he’s seen in that time. “Holsworthy (in 2018) was very large, but more controlled. This season has shown the potential of what can happen.”

In Port Macquarie, Brad worked with his team of four in the national park, and in the Central Coast they worked on property protection. Another crew from his station was caught in the fire path further south. “Four trucks were burnt but luckily no-one was hurt,” he says.