Oberne Creek Rural Fire Brigade tell of growth, change and challenges as members celebrate decades of service

Oberne Creek Rural Fire Brigade volunteers have devoted hundreds of years between them to protecting their community, with a majority serving up to 50 years and counting.

Brigade President Glenn Lucas has clocked up many decades with the RFS, watching the station grow into what it is today.

"I remember my very first experience fighting fire, it was with a neighbour burning off and the fire got away from him," he said.

"That was 60 odd years ago now."

Far from today's resources of electric hose reels and trucks, Mr Lucas said he and his father rode on horseback to the blaze.

"We took hessian bags with us, wet them and tied the horse up then hit the back end of the fire with a sweeping motion to put out the flames," he said.

Fighting fires ran in the family, with Mr Lucas' father serving as the brigade's secretary for many years.

"In those days, you didn't really join up so to speak, you kind of just started helping out and now I'm still here today," he said.

The advancement in resources was one of the most significant changes Mr Lucas has seen over his years with the RFS.

"The mobile phone boosters on the trucks are brilliant, you can ring people in places you'd never have been able to before, and while the UHF radios were always good, you never knew if the recipient would have them on, whereas you can always pick up a phone and make a call," he said.

But possibly one of the most valuable additions to the brigade, which has an average member age of 74, is the installation of electric hose reels.

"About three years ago now, we went to a fire at Umbango at about 4.30 in the morning, there was a glow up on top of the hill where lighting had struck," Mr Lucas said.

"When we got there, it was in a grove of timber on the edge of this big slope, so we backed up the trucks, pulled out the hoses and fought the fire, but we ended up about 60 metres down the hill and had to drag these big hoses full of water back up to the trucks.

"That was when we decided we really needed to get electric reels for both our trucks."

As word got out to the Rural Fire Service Association, the Riverina representative Jon Morgan helped the brigade make an application to purchase two new reels. Soon after, a $10,000 donation from the RFSA saw the upgrade come to life.

"They came just in the nick of time, too, because before we knew it, the huge Dunns Road bushfire started," Mr Lucas said.

The Oberne Creek Brigade was first on scene to fight what became a horrendous battle for the state.

"Captain Burbage and I were first on the western side of the fire, it was coming straight at us, it was horrendous," Mr Lucas said.

"But suddenly, the wind changed and took it the other way, so we raced around to the other side, followed the big overhead power lines and tried to put it out from there but it came down the hill and burnt straight across in front of us."

It was an exhausting couple of months for Mr Lucas and others battling the blaze, and unlike anything many of them had dealt with before.

"I've never been so exhausted, there was one day I was out for the whole night, got home at 6am and had an hour to sleep before the next call to go came in at 7am," he said.

"It was just extremely tiring the whole month of January."

Through the ups and downs of his volunteering journey, Mr Lucas said there were aspects he missed but many things to be grateful for, too.

"The thing I think most of us miss the most is that in the old days, the Forestry Department had an exceptional fire attack group with great leaders," he said.

"They'd be there straight away and take over with their dozers and such, whereas we don't have access to any of that now, it's just what we supply ourselves.

"But having said that, you don't have to send smoke signals anymore, you just ring somebody up and away you go."

Membership has also fluctuated over the years, but the call for more volunteers continues.

"The numbers are definitely down from 50 years ago and members are fairly old now, but after the Dunns Road bushfire we did get an influx of people, young people particularly, wanting to join which was great," Mr Lucas said.

"We can't go forever."

Rural brigades like Oberne Creek play a vital role in protecting the community, according to RFSA Riverina representative Jon Morgan.

"It's hard to put into words just how valuable these people are to the community," he said.

"These are people who are continually giving, you never know they're there until something happens and they are the ones who step up without wanting credit.

"They do it for a sense of duty, not recognition, and that's just what country people do."

Mr Morgan said it was time to start seeing more young volunteers joining the RFS to fill the shoes of those who have dedicated so much time to the service.

"It is an aging service, the average age across the state is into the 50s now," he said.

"I ran into many of the firefighters in their 70s and even 80s who were working on the Dunns Road fire in excess of 30 hours straight."

The "quiet achievers", as Mr Morgan described them, were an asset.

"They are fantastic people, not just the firefighters, but their families, helpers, other agencies working together, it just gives off a real sense of community," he said.