Seven Wagga people have been formally recognised for stepping up to the call and providing vital support to firefighters and evacuees during the Dunns Road Fire of 2019/2020.
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Member for Riverina Michael McCormack yesterday presented the seven volunteers with the prestigious National Emergency Medal for their selfless efforts.
The recipients included Maris Herr, David Abbott, John Anderson, Rodney Cooper, Steve Jenkins, Richard Salcole, Alison Jenkins. Nicole Abbott was also recognised for her efforts receiving a special certificate of thanks.
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The drama began to unfold on New Years' Eve 2019 after Mr Salcole received a call for help from Kylie Anderson of the Wagga Salvation Army. In response he organised the group to go to Tumbarumba and offer their support.
"We quickly established an all-volunteer crew of veterans, spouses and two non-veterans and the following day a convoy of vehicles drove through the orange smoke into Tumbarumba," Mr Salcole said.
"Over the next 24 hours the crew provided meals to the residents of the town and all emergency service first responders who came through the door, many of whom had not eaten in days on the fire front.
"We then responded to the Wagga evacuation centre and again assisted the Salvation Army there to provide meals to people from the Tumbarumba, Batlow and Snowy Mountains districts who had been evacuated."
Mr Salcole said the group also stood ready to respond to any fire threat to the Murraguldrie Veterans Retreat.
Retired Naval Commander Rodney Cooper recalled the surreal experience.
"The whole of Tumbarumba was burning," Mr Cooper said.
"The fire was all around us and fire trucks were going up and down the road. They would go to one end, and deal with something before racing back up the other end. They were flat strapped and really under threat."
Mr Cooper also reflected on the scale of the challenges they faced. "We cooked and prepared nearly 900 meals in 24 hours. We re-stocked the fridges and just fed and comforted people," he said.
"They just needed someone to listen to them, not to say you feel sorry, but to really listen and put an arm on their shoulder and say things were going to be alright."
Army veteran and former long-serving SES volunteer David Abbott also recalled the "harrowing" experience.
"The most heart-breaking part of it was talking to those people who had just lost absolutely everything," Mr Abbott said. "But then the really heart-warming part of it was the amount of donations of clothing and food was overwhelming."
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