After the Fire

“The most powerful weapon on Earth is the human soul on fire”.

- Ferdinand Foch

Let me tell you a little about the man in these photos.

He served as captain of his community Rural Fire Service for 13 years, and when the devastating Gosper’s Mountain fire ravaged thousands of hectares of bushland and destroyed so many lives he, like the many others in his brigade, worked back to back shifts; chasing the beast through the unique and difficult terrain of the Blue Mountains.

On one such night, he and his crew were defending property in a densely wooded area which was positioned some way off the nearest road. It was isolated and could only be reached by a narrow driveway that wound down through the scrub before widening into a large clearing where the dwellings were situated. Such is the nature of bushfire that it’s approach barely allowed enough time for the crew to take cover and, horrifyingly, the code “RED RED RED” was called over the radios. Finding a firefighter that can recall hearing those words during his career is a rare occurrence, because the code indicates back to base that human life is at risk.

For twenty minutes, every man and woman gathered around those radios sat as a sickening and icy silence fell. Broken, thankfully, when the crew was able to safely call in that miraculously, no one had been hurt.

When I asked in detail about how he felt during the burn-over, he answered with total calmness and almost bemusement - for he had utter faith in his abilities, brought to him by so many years of experience on the fire ground. His remarks came with only awe and utter respect when witnessing the sheer power of mother nature at her most furious. He marvelled at the wind and roar produced by the fire that raced toward them, engulfing huge eucalypt trees in seconds. Knowing too well that spite will not serve him when face to face with an enemy, he even chuckled as he told me that he startled a kangaroo as they crossed paths when emerging from shelter. During a moment of bewildered eye contact he told it “sorry mate, we didn’t see that one coming either!'“ It bounced away a little singed and cranky but in otherwise good health.

I wanted to take these portraits so that I could say thank you in my own small way, to try and preserve the lessons learnt during the hardest of times and to recognise the accomplishments of the people who worked so tirelessly despite their own exhaustion and losses. I hope they can be enjoyed as such.

This face belongs to an individual who is admired and looked up to by so many, and he was gracious and utterly elegant as he appeased my odd request to don his yellows and revisit the scene to survey the aftermath. It might just be me, but I think you can see how quickly he forgot the camera was there as he examined the blackened trees and ground of the bushland that he so clearly loves.

Thank You Larry Lane.

*strict copyright applies to these images - they may not be used, duplicated or altered without exemption unless permission is negotiated