TOM KENEALLY
by Dave Roberts
Tom Keneally is a big bloke.
He smiles that easy smile of a guy
who isn't threatened by very much, and he has an
air of authority about him. Put it together with
a good strong moustache and the picture starts to
yell "copper".
It wasn't long after I met Tom that
I first saw him in uniform, and the pieces fell
into place. The man is basically gentle, and I'd
found out that he isn't a policeman but a public
servant with CALM. So where does he get his dose
of blue uniforms, shiny buttons and directing traffic?
Tom is the captain of the Volunteer fire brigade
in Collie.
Most of the Australian population
loves to think that we all come from the bush, even
if most of us live in the cities and crave the beach.
There is something deep inside us that loves the
gum tree. Probably the most terrifying sight that
we can see in the bush is a fire out of control.
For those who live in the bush, keeping the fire
threat at least partly under control is the volunteer
bush fire brigade. It seems likely that without
the vollies, there couldn't really be life in the
bush. If there was such a thing, it would be a risky
business indeed.
As time has gone by, the service is
involved in a number of other things, including
motor vehicle crashes. Tom has found great satisfaction
at getting some injured people out alive, but there
are tough times when that's just not possible. Tom
says that part of the professionalism that the team
displays is in treating deceased persons with dignity.
Why do vollies do it? For some it
must be civic duty, you know the reliable type.
For some it certainly is a way to get some excitement,
standing face to face with a very savage beast.
For the big kids among them, maybe the chance to
turn on the lights and sirens has it's attractions.
Is this a place where the term mateship has the
same meaning it did before it became incorrect and
unfashionable?
Tom has been doing the job long enough
to have had a range of experiences, and to find
a number of positives in the job. There must certainly
be some times when he isn't sure why he's doing
it anyway. Whatever the base reason, he must be
pretty good at it, because they made him the captain.
More than that, this year was been nominated for
the fire fighter of the year award. Tom says he's
very humbled by the nomination, and says it reflects
the work of volunteers all over the place.
So some statistics. Tom's been doing
the volunteer job for 12 years. He fights fires,
and he's involved in training and some public relations
work (first time I saw the uniform was at last year's
Collie show). In that time he's been to around 150
incidents, and been involved in saving more than
a dozen houses.
When he started as a volunteer it
was because he was eager to serve his community.
The most satisfying things about the job as he gets
a chance to look back on it are the satisfaction
that even as a volunteer, he is part of a very professional
outfit. The teamwork is very important and there
is training and mentoring available to help those
who have the commitment to achieve extraordinary
standards. There is the satisfaction of knowing
that it is a service the community needs, and if
they didn't do it, nobody would. The most frightening
thing that he's ever seen was the scene the brigade
found on turning out at the fire at Ian Guppy's
panel and paint shop. When they arrived the place
was well ablaze and the shed was pressurized. No
one really knew how the situation would behave,
and the whole team knew that there was the possibility
of some very big bangs. Tom reckons he'll be involved
in fire fighting for as far into the future as he
can see.
Tom's background involves his wife
Fran, who runs the local tourist bureau, daughters
Robin and Megan, and a few things he does for fun,
but in summer the fire season can see him too busy
for much of that. The Kenneallys arrived in Collie
in 1986 because CALM had transferred Tom there.
If you've ever heard of a guy called Thomas Kenneally,
the novelist, he's a relative but they don't see
much of each other.
We couldn't live in the bush without
the vollies. If you live here there would have to
be a good reason for you not to want to do something
to support them. Maybe it's only buying that jolly
raffle ticket for now, but if you could see your
way clear to joining up, there are people who would
love to talk to you. They can be emailed at cvfrs@starday.com.au,
or you could check out the web site at http://www.fesa.wa.gov.au.
November 2001
