Interview with Deaf Australian firefighter
Here is an interview with a deaf Australian firefighter, Peter Busch. He is 61 years old.
PETER BUSCH:
I am a volunteer firefighter for 45 years.
(Peter shows his helmet and fire uniform and points out that there are “I’M DEAF” stickers on it)
I must have the “I’M DEAF” stickers, so that people I meet who don’t know that I am deaf and are yelling behind my back, they know to instead grab me by my back, or to pull on my hose to let me know for safety reasons.
[Text: Busch is a volunteer with the Country Fire Authority (CFA) He lives in the state of Victoria. His father was a fireman and he learned from him when he was a teenager. He said it’s the worst fire season he’s ever seen.]
It is the worst that I have ever seen in my life. Never seen fires so bad and big, I’ve experienced smaller ones but this is huge.
(Images)
Before November, there was a fire in New South Wales near Sydney, up north. A group of us flew on the Army plane C-130 and stayed there for 5 days to fight the fires.
(Images)
We came back here and that's when it started, a little bit here and there and it kept on growing. We were going all over to the places to fight the fires. We saw many houses that burned down, farms burnt to the ground, the animals - cows and sheep all gone. Very sad, I’m just a volunteer helping out the best I can.
(Images)
ALEX:
Busch shared that in 2014, there was a fire from a lightning strike that burned almost all of his farm except for his house. He said his community helped him rebuild the fencing around the farm and he will help others rebuild their farms and fencings after the fire season.
PETER:
I have seen some families struggle during the fires and we tell them they need to go, they need to leave. They are in shock and are panicking which is disastrous. We help them to leave so we can try to save the house. Sometimes we are sorry and cannot save their home, the winds are too strong and it stings, it hurts. I need to remember to save myself first and remove myself from the path of the fire, instead we go around to the back of the fire.
(Images)
ALEX:
Many news articles about the bushfires are about the wildlife that is affected. I asked Busch if he has seen this himself.
PETER:
I’ve seen some (animals) and some dead ones, its very sad. Can’t help that. I’ve seen some slightly burnt animals, such as their paws and hands. We pick them up and they go to hospitals where people look after them and bandage their wounds. Not me but other people look after them while we continue to fight the fires.
(Images)
ALEX:
Busch said he knows of five other culturally and signing deaf firefighters in Australia.
PETER:
There are five deaf firefighters in Australia.
Two deaf firefighters from Sydney, who are my friends — they’re both husband and wife. The wife had to go out to fight the fires while the husband stayed home to look after their daughter, they both take turns.
At that time, the wife was out there with 4 trucks driving together along there road where the fires have been, one tree fell down in front of the 4 trucks, causing it to roll and it killed two of the men in the truck.
The deaf female firefighter was in the second truck, she was lucky to be safe from the incident. If she was in the first truck, she may have been killed. She was shocked, assisted in the CPR but they were not able to be saved. The tree fell onto them and the truck.
She went to the funeral in Sydney. So many people went, it is very sad.
ALEX:
News articles confirm this. Their names were Andrew O’Dwyer (32) and Geoffrey Keaton (36). They were fathers to 19-month-old children. Andrew’s daughter was photographed using his father’s helmet as she stood by his casket during the funeral.
We see that a dangerous part of firefighting is driving fire trucks through burning areas. Busch will describe his experiences.
PETER:
I have driven through fires twice, we had to because we couldn’t turn back - it was full on so we had to drive through. Sometimes I drive the truck, we all share responsibility and take turns in driving it. I drove through the fires twice, it was very scary but it was okay because the truck has water sprinting out on top to the sides to help us get through the fires.
The fires were about 20 feet tall, we went through them. The length of the fires were about 100 feet long, we drove through it to make it out into the open. We were coughing throughout that drive. We have the masks, eyewear, and other things.
As firefighters, we all work as a team to work out which way to escape and leave. Hearing firefighters have radios in which they communicate about their surroundings especially for times when they are unsure of the way out due to the fires, the radio communications assists in telling them which way out is best. When I drive the truck, the hearing people in my team tap my shoulder and tell me which way to go.
ALEX:
Busch said the fires in his area has been relentless and exhausting for him and other firefighters. They have to stop and rest and go into shifts.
He said the fires in Victoria are similar to the fires that have ravaged parts of California in recent years.
(Images)
Thank you for your time and for sharing your stories, Peter Busch.
https://people.com/.../2-australian-firefighters-new.../
https://people.com/.../girl-wears-australian-firefighter.../
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