HONOURED: National Emergency Service Medal recipients, from left, Stephen Carman and Ray Carman and Country Fire Authority District 17’s Shannon Arnott with assistant chief officer Peter O’Keefe at an awards ceremony at district headquarters. Picture: KELLY LAIRD
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Father and son honour BY SARAH SCULLY
H
orsham fire-fighters Ray Carman and son Stephen were at a funeral on February 7, 2009, when the alarm was raised.
“When we walked out of the church, we thought, ‘this is not good’,” Ray said. “We had crews at the station and all the trucks prepared. We were prepared for as much as we could anticipate, but the weather was unprecedented for this area – and you can’t prepare for something you have never seen.” Victoria’s Black Saturday bushfires occurred during some of the worst bushfire weather conditions ever recorded, with temperatures reaching up to 46 degrees and winds in excess of 100 kilometres an hour. About 400 fires sparked across the state on the day, including one at a power pole in a paddock in Remlaw Road. The Remlaw fire affected almost 360 properties at Haven, Drung and Remlaw, destroying 11 houses and Horsham Golf Club. “We were lucky we didn’t lose any lives here, that’s all I can say,” Mr Carman said. Mr Carman, 57, was officerin-charge of Horsham Fire Station on Black Saturday. “Basically, I was in charge of organising crews for trucks, along with welfare, such as making sure there was cold drinks and food available,” he said. “Early in the piece of a fire, water and food is something
you think about down the track. But we could see this was going to be big, so I started that within an hour of the initial call.” Mr Carman said crews returning to the station for respite were severely dehydrated. “At one stage we had six members lying on the floor in the meeting room, dehydrated and exhausted,” he said. “We were doing first aid on them because we couldn’t get through to triple zero to call an ambulance – and when we could get through, the only one available was at Nhill.” Mr Carman said the day was one of panic. “There were no fire trucks left in Horsham. Every truck within 50 kilometres was devoted to the fire,” he said. “If we had another fire pop up, say a grass fire in Horsham North, we did not have a truck spare. “I organised a trailer with a pump on it, a fire hydrant and some hoses and hooked that up to the back of a four-wheel drive. That was the only thing left available – luckily it was not required.” Mr Carman said Horsham fared better than many areas across the state. “We were lucky the fire turned and the wind turned and we were able to secure the fire within a few hours – I think it was eight hours,” he said. “Even though we did have a big loss, in a lot of places, fires burnt for weeks.” Mr Carman said Stephen was
his right-hand man on Black Saturday. “I was the organiser and he was the man power,” he said. “I’m not sure if he went out on the fire ground that day, but he was part of the crew that spent the next couple of weeks mopping up and putting out trees that were burning.”
Recognition
Last week, the Carmans received the National Emergency Medal for their service during the Black Saturday fires. The medal is awarded to people deemed to have rendered sustained service during specified dates in specified places in response to nationally-significant emergencies across Australia. The Carmans were unavailable during a previous presentation ceremony. Assistant chief officer Peter O’Keefe presented the medals to the pair during a ceremony at CFA’s District 17 headquarters. He also presented Mr Carman with a 35-year long-service medal and Shannon Arnott with a certificate for five years of service. Mr Carman joined Horsham Fire Brigade in 1980. “I first became interested in the fire brigade in 1971 when I saw the state offices burn down. I was too young at the time, but I thought, ‘I wanted to do that’,” he said. “My father was sergeant at St John Ambulance and was a first-aid lecturer for 27 years. My older brother, mum and
sister were all involved in firstaid activities. “First aid didn’t really appeal to me, but the community spirit was bred into me from my parents and older siblings, so I went for the fire brigade.” Mr Carman has had a variety of brigade and group roles in the past three and a half decades, including first lieutenant, secretary and treasurer. He has also helped train junior fire-fighters and participated in strike teams, fighting fires away from home. “I went to the Ash Wednesday fires in ’83 and I still have scars on my back from when a tree fell on me at Maryborough in ’84,” he said. “I’ve also been to a lot of the Grampians’ bushfires.” Mr Carman said he enjoyed the variety of work. “We don’t just get grass fires, we get building fires, car fires – there’s all sorts, including getting cats out of trees,” he said. “Also, the CFA has a phenomenal welfare program. It is the envy of many emergency services, including police, ambulance and SES. They really appreciate their members and staff, which is good.” Mr Carman said the highlight of being part of the CFA was the camaraderie between members. “It is absolutely fantastic. It’s like a second family,” he said. “My wife has always said, tongue in cheek, that I have three priorities in life: work, fire brigade and marriage – in that order.”
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