The sight of the devastating 1994 bushfires in Sydney spurred Newport’s Susi Bauer to join Tumbledown Dick RFS. And she is calling for more volunteers – especially women – to help.
Susi Bauer has fire in her voice, and after serving as a volunteer for Tumbledown Dick Rural Fire Services (RFS) for most of her life in Australia, fire is something that she knows very well.
“I joined the RFS in 1995. What triggered me was the 1994 horrific fires in Sydney, where so many people lost their homes.
Originally from Germany, Susi was living in Newport when the fires were consuming the Northern Beaches, but at that time, she was on holiday overseas. Through the constant new coverage, she became a helpless witness to the devastation that would give her life a new meaning.
“I remember when I came home that everything was burned,” Susi says. “There wasn’t one blade of grass, not even a little weed poking out. I was shocked.
“Then, the news about the Rural Fire Service, the volunteer fire brigade was going on. I asked them what qualifications were needed to become a volunteer firefighter, and they said ‘absolutely nothing. We will train you’. And that was it. I joined, and I have been there ever since.”
For the last 28 years, Susi has made the Tumbledown Dick at Ingleside her second family and home. Although her time on duty is limited due to work commitments, she puts her heart and soul into her shifts. One of Susi’s roles in the brigade is to attend emergencies on the ‘flyer,’ an urban interface response crew and truck that attends triple 000 calls overnight. It covers an area around Terrey Hills where there are no Fire and Rescue services.
Susi Bauer at a hazard reduction.
“If there’s an emergency call out, we all jump out of bed, hop on the truck and attend. There are so many facets to the brigade, not just firefighting. There is flood relief and storm relief. There is something there for everyone,” she says.
According to Susi, the best way to get involved is by approaching your local brigade. Then you will see what the best way for you could be to collaborate, either enrolling or making a donation, depending on your skills and the needs of the brigade.
“If there’s an emergency call out, we all jump out of bed, hop on the truck and attend.”
Susi is not the only woman in Tumbledown. The Northern Beaches RFS has a history of female volunteers working alongside men, being the first brigade in New South Wales to have a female captain, Jodi Cree.
“I was encouraged and allowed to take opportunities, to grow and develop. I think, aside from having a good life, I owe it to myself and I owe it to others to put back something into the community. It is very rewarding to be able to know that what you do makes a difference,” she explains.
“It is absolutely critical that the members of any organisation reflect the makeup of the community. That would be men, women, ages, and backgrounds. Men and women have different skills. On their own, they’re good, but together they are much more as they complement each other,” she says.
To Susi, the experience of being a volunteer goes beyond comradery as it allows growing and gaining life skills.
“In terms of what you can get out of it, it’s amazing. Communication skills, critical thinking skills, leadership skills, and working under pressure are things that you can use in life. And particularly for women, it opens a lot of doors and helps create self-confidence.
“Our current captain, Ben Hallett once said ‘Volunteering is the Australian thing to do.’ And I think he is so right about that. I didn’t plan to stay in Australia forever, but when I came here, life and people were so different. I thought it was amazing. You can take and give as much as you want. And obviously, the giving is the best part of it all.”