RAYMOND Terrace Fire & Rescue has had a huge year in 2021, attending a record 513 incidents at the time of writing.

For those who may not be aware, the Brigade does so much more than just tending to fires and explosions.

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In 2021 alone, only 25% of calls made were for fires or explosions with many calls for action at car crashes, some of which were very serious, and others calls included rescuing a cat from a tree and a possum from a roof.

Deputy Captain Giacomo Arnott spoke to News Of The Area about the Brigade’s year.

“This year has been very busy for us and although COVID made it difficult for us to do our usual public relations activities including our Home Fire Safety Visits, we were very pleased to still be able to deliver the 2021 Santa Lolly Run on 19 December.

“Our station deals with such a variety of incidents, from house fires to car crashes, to animal rescues and spillages, and this year has been no different.

“We see it all, and we all love helping our community,” Deputy Captain Arnott said.

This year, the crew attended more than its fair share of incidents with fatalities and life-threatening injuries.

“Our thoughts are always with the families and friends of those who we have to help.

“We will always respond to a call for assistance, but as you could appreciate, our preference is always for everyone in our community to be safe and not require our help,” he said.

If this job sounds of interest to you, there is some good news.

Raymond Terrace Fire & Rescue will be recruiting new members in the new year.

“We encourage anyone who is interested in being paid to be a Retained on-call Firefighter to follow our Facebook page, where we will post the details of recruitment once it begins.

“We encourage everyone to consider this job.

“We have an extremely diverse team, and to be successful, you need to have a driver’s license, pass a fitness test, complete a medical, and have daytime, weekday availability and live within a few kilometres of the station,” Arnott said.

As Christmas Holidays approach, it is essential to keep following safe practices to ensure no harm to yourself or others.

“Don’t overload power boards, keep a look out when cooking, clear out your gutters and de-clutter your yards.

“While it’s been a wet start to the fire season, bushfires can happen anywhere, any time; being prepared is critical.

“I want to thank the Raymond Terrace and Heatherbrae communities for their support this year.

“On behalf of our whole team, Merry Christmas we hope you enjoy your holidays – safely, of course,” Deputy Captain Arnott said.

Thank you to the whole Raymond Terrace Fire & Rescue team for all your support and consistent efforts to keep our community safe.

By Tara CAMPBELL