Kevin Hogan (Page, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

It's been a very traumatic time for many in my community. Last week, a fire took over 60 homes and, tragically, two lives were lost. Incredible stories are being told of the bravery and kindness of people within this tragedy. Rappville, like a number of communities, became cut off. It was surrounded by fire and needed to defend itself. Senior Constable Troy Keep and Tracy Godfrey doorknocked every home in Rappville, advising people to take cover. Donna Sloan, who is the primary school cleaner, opened the school as people started to seek protection. Garry Marshall sat in a tree for hours putting out embers as they flew towards the school. John Duncan and his partner, Cass, hid in their back shed. Richard Rose and his son-in-law Mitchell Bennett strongly advised them that they had to move to the school for protection. Fortunately they did, as the garage burnt to the ground.

Rappville RFS captain Neil Burnett, as well as Ross Cole and John Arthur, led the team of volunteers, whilst they themselves experienced significant physical losses. These are just a handful of the countless stories of bravery and heroism. To the local emergency operations controllers—Toby Lindsay, police; Michael Brett, RFS; Greg Lewis, Fire and Rescue; Mark Somers, SES; and Greg Powell, ambulance—and their teams: I thank you. Rappville is a resilient community. Disaster relief is already flowing into the community and surrounds as we rebuild. Over 300 power poles have already been replaced. However, the hall needs to be rebuilt, hundreds of kilometres of fencing need replacing and much more. To all the first responders and to Mayor Robert Mustow and General Manager Vaughan Macdonald and his council team, for your leadership: I thank you.

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