The Day After Black Saturday...One Year On.

It's hard to think that a year has passed

It is hard to come to terms with the fact that a year has gone past since the tragedy of Black Saturday.

We had no idea of the disaster that was unfolding

If you were in Melbourne on that day, you will remember the way the day unfolded. As the morning rolled by, many of us thought that the horrific conditions that we had all been warned to expect may have been wrong. Then, as lunchtime arrived, those Northerly winds whipped up and the temperature began to rise steadily. Just after lunch the first jobs were coming in for trees down and small building damage including a house in Chelsea Heights where a large market umbrella had been picked up and launched, spearing through the roof of the property. Sadly, by late afternoon, the searing heat and relentless winds were proof that the forecasters had in fact been so right. We at Chelsea SES were kept busy into that evening dealing with what still seemed to be a number of normal types of jobs, and even then, we still had no idea of the destruction that was happening and of what was ahead of us.

One of the more unusual jobs on Black Saturday was this garden umbrella into a roof

As the late afternoon turned seamlessly into early evening, we began to pick up radio chatter that indicated that there were some major events happening around the State, many of them almost on the outskirts of Melbourne itself, but as we went about clearing the jobs that we had, we really had no idea as to the extent of the unfolding tragedy.

Whittlesea, where we were to spend almost 15 hours

By early Sunday morning, the enormity of what had occurred was becoming clearer and the realisation that we may soon be at the very heart of it was becoming all too real. I don't remember exactly when the page came through asking for crews from Chelsea to be dispatched to Whittlesea where people affected by the Kinglake fires were arriving and family and friends were looking for loved ones that they had not been able to contact since the afternoon before. Two Crews left for the area and spent the next 15 hours doing whatever we could for the survivors, families and friends, so brutally affected and trying to keep onlookers out of the area.

The sheer scope of the Disaster was so hard to come to grips with

Nothing can prepare you for the sheer scope that a disaster like this delivers. Training can only take you so far and then humanity takes over, simply trying to do your best for these people; caught up in a nightmare that turns day to night, consumes anything in its way and then is gone; leaving in its wake the scars of fear and trepidation and the devastation of loss and grief.

Kinglake SES Unit that was destroyed on Black Saturday

As the day progressed, so many devastating stories of loss were peppered with amazing stories of survival and sheer luck, but sadly as the hours went by those happy endings were becoming less and less frequent.

What was left of the Kinglake SES Unit training room

As we returned to Chelsea in the early hours of the morning of Monday the 9th of February, the silence in the vehicles only amplified the thoughts of many of the crew members which turned to our own families and the strange reality that such a short distance away so many lives had been changed forever, not just single lives, but in many cases generational changes; Children, Parents, Grandparents; all gone; but here, life inexplicably seemed to be going on as normal. It all seemed just so unfair.

Thanks Mate! We may wear different coloured uniforms, but our hearts are all one colour

To each and every one of  the CFA volunteers who did such a magnificent job, as always,  throughout the days and weeks that followed Black Saturday, we all owe a huge debt of thanks. The reality of what occurred on that day should never, and will never be forgotten, and for those of us at Chelsea SES that were directly involved; hands on; our lives were touched in a way that means we will always remember exactly where we were, what we were doing and who we were with, during those hours together on February the eighth, the day after Black Saturday.

Phil Wall

Chelsea SES