Berrigan RFS crew (from left) Ian Hovenden, Riley Nolen and Lauren McAndrew.
Firefighters from the Southern Riverina region spent last week assisting in the clean-up of flood devastated communities in northern NSW.
Following the call for assistance, a volunteer strike team was quickly formed and the crew were deployed to Ballina for five days, including two days of travel.
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Riley Nolan, Lauren McAndrew and Ian Hovenden from Berrigan Rural Fire Service and Joe Mula from the Jerilderie Rural Fire Service were among the 25 firefighters deployed from the region.
On day one the team were sent to Wardell in NSW — a small community devastated by flooding situated on the Richmond River.
Crews helped to wash down and clear homes, as well as a primary school.
On days two and three, crews headed to Broadwater, where they worked alongside the Australian Army to clear out general areas such as schools, libraries, hospitals, homes and businesses.
Mr Hovenden said some of the areas they attended hadn’t seen any help before they went in.
‘‘Due to the logistics of getting into some of the areas, they hadn’t been accessed yet,’’ he said.
‘‘We assisted the army in removing furniture and any other debris from the properties and then used our equipment to wash out mud and other waste.’’
He said they worked hard to try and get these devastated communities back to a ‘‘bit of normality’’.
Mr Nolan took to Facebook to show some of the devastation his team had seen over the week.
‘‘After five days being deployed to northern New South Wales assisting with the flood crisis, I am grateful to be able to go home knowing as a team we have helped the community to recover to the best of our ability,’’ he said.
RFS Federation Zone Group Captain Greyd’n Davis said Berrigan RFS will continue to assist in the clean up as required.
‘‘We will continue to help out as much as we can, for as long as we can,’’ said Mr Davis.
‘‘Due to the enormity and size of the emergency area, planning and logistics does make it more complicated.
‘‘We have a rotational arrangement with the Federation Support New South Wales RFS Brigade, so as long as we can continue to afford sending crews we will.’’
