04 May 2021
Russell Barker is a charter member of the Hellyer Brigade, and over his 40 years has seen fire fighting methods change dramatically.
“When I first started all we had was beaters to bash the flames out and knapsacks,” he said.
The equipment was less than ideal, with the beaters being made up of sticks with leather scraps on the end, with firefighters flapping the sticks at the flames in the hopes of smothering it out.
“Wasn’t real good in a house fire,” he laughed.
Since then, the Brigade has evolved slowly with time, with Russell remembering the club receiving a water cart.