RFS Commissioner retires
After 45 years of quenching fires with the Rural Fire Service (RFS), Commissioner Rob Rogers is hanging up the hose at the end of this summer’s fire season.
His interest in the RFS was ignited when he was 15 years old in 1979 when talking to a firefighter from the Belrose Brigade near the (former) President Hotel. He went to a brigade meeting and got involved in hazard reduction burns. It wasn’t long before he faced his first fire – ‘a baptism of fire,’ he calls it – with widespread fires all around Ingleside, Terrey Hills and Oxford Falls.
Rob ended up as captain of the Belrose Brigade and ditched his IT job for a full-time role with the RFS in Taree, NSW.
“Back then it was pretty advanced in the Sydney area compared to what it was in Taree,” says Rob. “It was very much based on what local councils could afford. And there was a disparity in the levels of equipment.”
Rob stayed in Taree a few years before taking up a managerial role in Cessnock before moving to head office (Olympic Park) as assistant commissioner in 2001.
Over the years, firefighter safety has improved immensely, with equipment these days nothing like it was when Rob was a young firefighter.
“We never used to have tanker protection,” explains Rob. “And we put protection spray on all the trucks; they have fire blankets in case the truck’s being overrun, and we test firefighter clothing for protection.
“So, there’s more emphasis on safety now than there was back then,” he adds. “I think that’s just a reflection on the value society places on people’s lives now.
“Volunteers to do this work. The very least we can do is provide the best equipment we can so they can get home to their family.”
Rob says NSW would be in ‘terrible shape’ without the RFS when there are major fires.
“The RFS can move thousands of people around the state, deploys firefighters overseas when needed and they’ve got aircraft over in the US as well.”
The Northern Beaches RFS has always been strong, with the local community willing to commit.
“People like to give, but also be a part of something a little bigger than themselves,” Rob says.
Rob says the RFS really punches above its weight, stepping up to every challenge, whether it be providing base camps in remote areas during COVID-19, or providing support during a bee infestation.
“There’s a whole host of things that the RFS does well beyond firefighting, and that’s something I’m incredibly proud to be a part of. You don’t find a disaster in NSW that the RFS isn’t playing a role in,” Rob says.
It’s been a tough job for Rob at times, especially losing community members, losing homes, and losing firefighters.
“It is a very dangerous occupation, volunteer or not,” says Rob. “I think we lost about 40 or 50 homes last season, and we lost three firefighters. Trying to support those families as best we can through tough times can be difficult. All that (volunteers) are trying to do is help their community, and then they pay such a high price for it. It’s devastating.”
Rob is now looking forward to spending more time with his wife, Kim, two children and two grandchildren.
“I’ve turned 60, and I think it’s time,” says Rob. “I’ve worked consistently full-time nonstop for my whole life; I’ve never really had a period away from work.
“I’ll just calm down and wind back a bit and spend time with family. I’ll do something, but I don’t quite know what that is.”
