Crisis call to arms- Fiona Burns stands in the middle of the front row with the Victorian team sent to Western Australia including CFA Chief Officer Euan Ferguson on the far left and Chief Officer DSE

By Mara Pattison-Sowden
FIONA Burns has taken up Victoria’s call to arms for crisis emergency service volunteers, and she won’t be the last.
The Woori Yallock resident flew over to Western Australia with a Victorian strike team to help tackle the fires that were raging out of control on Perth’s outskirts.
When the Yarra Ranges needed volunteers on 7 February 2009, they came.
After the floods in Queensland and northern Victoria, and last week’s earthquake in New Zealand, Yarra Ranges volunteers continue to put their hands up to give back in whatever way they can.
Fiona, also a Hillcrest CFA volunteer, said the irony of her trip was that the team flew over to help the west Australian fire fighters on the two-year anniversary of Black Saturday.
“We flew out on the anniversary of February 7 and the irony of that day probably wasn’t lost,” she said.
Fiona also works at the CFA Burwood headquarters and it was her skills as a planning officer that were utilised in the incident management team sent to Western Australia.
“I had been aware of the fires and understood what they were facing and if we could provide assistance I was happy to go,” she said.
For three days she took the night shifts which were responsible for ensuring there were enough resources to get the fire under control, looking after the incoming crews and making sure the control lines could hold with the weekend weather.
“We arrived on Monday and by the Saturday they expected the weather to change to hot and dry and become a real threat to the community,” she said.
Fiona was on the night shift, managing crews on the Roleystone fire that were out in the dark in dangerous areas.
“It’s similar to the Warrandyte area so we were familiar with those hazards and risks,” she said.
The fire had started on the Sunday, and most of the damage was done in the first few hours.
Victoria sent its crew, including Fiona, and two water bombers by noon on Monday.
In the end more than 70 houses were lost, 461 hectares was burned and the main bridge had collapsed, but no one lost their lives. Fiona had been working in a similar role at the Woori Yallock command centre during the Black Saturday bushfires, but she said the difference was being there when the fire started.
“We were here for the startup so it was difficult to get information because the event was so dynamic, but in WA the fire had started and had been running for a few days before,” she said.
“The WA guys did a fantastic job to pull the fire up because it had the potential to do so much more damage than it did.”