There are many people who give up their Christmas lunch to help others. We speak with volunteers from Surf Life Saving and the Rural Fire Service, as well as an emergency nurse
NORTHERN BEACHES HOSPITAL: EMERGENCY NURSE
Accidents happen, and Christmas Day is no exception. Nobody wants to spend Christmas in the emergency department (ED), but if you or a loved one ends up at the Northern Beaches Hospital, ED nurse Bridget Macey, 37, from Narrabeen, will be there to care for you.
Bridget will be working on Christmas Eve until half past midnight, then again at 7pm on Christmas day. “I’ve worked a lot of Christmases, and it can be unpredictable,” Bridget says. “There are usually a lot of beach injuries or incidents relating to heat stroke, or it can be a combination of alcohol and heat. It might even be a child being injured while playing with a new toy – we try to get children seen quickly.
“It’s such a dynamic environment and it can change quickly,” says Bridget. “You can have 10 patients in the department, and within an hour, you’re absolutely chockers!”
Bridget thrives on what she calls ‘unpredictable chaos’. “It’s a high-stress environment, but I like a challenge,” she says. “It’s not an easy job, but it’s rewarding.”
Spending Christmas Day being treated in the ED isn’t fun, and Bridget says they try and keep the mood as light as they can by wearing festive scrubs, and they have gift packs for children.
Although she loves caring for the community at Christmas, Bridget misses out on family celebrations.
“I have family that visits once a year and we all get together,” Bridget says. “I have to sacrifice that about 50% of the time. But over the years, they’ve learned to roll with it, and they’re flexible with me.”
“And our bosses are pretty good in that they do try and keep it fair in terms of what we worked last year, and they try and alternate. Then there are those great people where Christmas isn’t their thing, and they put themselves forward to work.”
Bernadette with fellow club members Madelyn and Lucinda
AVALON BEACH SURF LIFE SAVING CLUB
Aussies love spending Christmas at the beach, especially if the sun is shining. Surf Life Saving volunteers happily relinquish precious time with their loved ones to ensure the safety of beachgoers.
Avalon resident and president of the Avalon Beach Surf Life Saving Club, Bernadette McKay, 59, will be keeping us safe from 3pm to 6pm on Christmas Day. She says the club tries to accommodate volunteers’ availability depending on how they celebrate.
“My family’s spread out across Australia, and we’ve always been very loose as to when we celebrate,” Bernadette says. “We look at a day that works for everybody – even in early or mid-December – so we’re not disappointed if it’s not the actual day itself.
“And you’re doing something for the community,” she adds.
Her 20-year-old son patrols with her but is overseas this year, however her husband Martin will spend time on the beach and have a swim.
Bernadette says there’s always going to be danger in a beach environment, but it really depends on the conditions.
“About three years ago, we did 68 rescues in one day (over the Christmas period),” she says. “It was about 40 degrees, and we were just coming out of COVID-19, so everybody descended (on the beach). We had to call out for nearby patrolling members to come and help. We had about 35 people patrolling that afternoon.”
Surf life Saving volunteers need to be vigilant; their core purpose is to save lives, which they take very seriously.
“Everybody is skilled to ensure that we’re rescue-ready,” she says. “But our purpose is to prevent things from escalating, such as talking to people, picking the safest swimming area and remaining vigilant in order to get to somebody before something bad happens. But I say to everybody in my patrol, ‘If we’ve done nothing today, it’s great’; a boring patrol is a good patrol,” she laughs.
Declan (left) working on Christmas Day at Katoomba in 2019
TERREY HILLS RURAL FIRE BRIGADE
The summer heat brings the threat of bushfires with it. The Rural Fire Service (RFS) are vigilant during bushfire season, ready to act if needed to keep us safe in the event of a fire or other emergency.
Declan McLerie, 22, is deputy captain of the Terrey Hills Rural Fire Brigade, and has been volunteering with them since 2017. The brigade responds to any fire or rescue call, house fires, car fires, car accidents or helps with medical-assistance if ambulance officers need it.
Volunteers who are on call at Christmas are contacted via the RFS smartphone app.
“An alert goes off in the middle of the night and wakes half the house up, and I go stomping down the stairs,” Declan laughs. “Everyone else must try and get back to sleep.
“It’s hard on you and your loved ones,” explains Declan. “But I feel it’s important to give back to the community.” He is currently studying electrical engineering and working as an undergraduate engineer, and says his teachers and bosses have always supported his desire to help the community.
Declan was in Year 11 during the tragic 2019/20 ‘Black Summer’ bush fires. “On Christmas day, I was deployed to the Blue Mountains for back-burning operations to control the Gospers Mountain fire,” he says. Lightening initially started this fire on 26 October, and it was eventually contained on 12 January after burning through more than 512,000 hectares.
Declan really missed his parents and sister back in Terrey Hills.
“Being away from family over Christmas was tough,” Declan says. “But I did FaceTime with them, and I also had a supportive crew.”
The camaraderie was high amongst the crew, and they all had lunch together at a local community centre – where grateful locals would bring food for them.
“We are all volunteers, and no one’s obligated to work Christmas,” says Declan. “But as a collective, we feel a sense of duty to the community, and we try and make sure that there are enough people available if a call arises.”