‘Listen up,’ Mick called out half an hour later. The volume of voices in the CFA shed dropped immediately. ‘We’ve had report of a car accident on Back Creek Road out near Osbornes Flat.’
‘Eddie, that’s you. You’re up,’ Steve shouted.
A call-out to a car accident in the middle of a bushfire did not bode well.
Eddie yanked off the telephone headset and handed the list of numbers to Kathy Peters. ‘I’ve called all these,’ she explained, running her finger down the list. ‘I’ve crossed off the people who’ve left already. No answer from these. Some of them might be away. Ask around. Someone will know.’
Kathy took the paper from Eddie, her face grim. ‘Did you get hold of the Baxters?’
Eddie froze and her stomach landed in her boots. In her panic, she’d forgotten about Harry’s family: the lists were divided up alphabetically and the Baxters weren’t on hers.
‘Let’s hope they’re at the hospital again, not out at the farm,’ Kathy said, seeing her expression.
‘Simon and Claire are in Wangaratta with the kids,’ Mick called out. ‘Claire rang in ten minutes ago. She’s spoken to her mum. Jenny is driving Jim back into town now.’
Eddie exhaled in relief. They were all safe. ‘I’d better go,’ she said.
‘Good luck.’
She jogged back to her car, her heart exploding with adrenalin. In the eastern distance the sky glowed a dark orange and thick smoke billowed into the darkening sky. The street was empty, every shop hastily closed. There would be no further trading until everyone was safe. Overhead, a helicopter circled low and Eddie heard sirens wailing. After years working as an SES volunteer, she was used to the responsibility, the adrenalin rush, the late night call-outs, but a sick sense of dread always accompanied every call and she wondered if she’d ever get used to the feeling. When a bushfire was involved and her own house was under threat, it magnified all the emotions.
She desperately wanted to call Harry and let him know his family was okay, but there simply wasn’t time. Besides, she didn’t want to scare him. It was possible he didn’t know about the fires yet.
When Eddie arrived at the SES headquarters, she found the rest of the team already gathered. Like her, everyone was wearing matching orange personal safety gear and fearful expressions, waiting for further instructions from Steve. They were alarmed but ready to do their jobs.
‘What’s the situation?’ she whispered to Ben, as he dropped onto the bench seat beside her and began pulling on his boots.
‘Fallen tree. Driver is still trapped. Female, age unknown. Police need us there with lights and stuff.’
‘Anyone else involved?’ she asked.
‘No, thank God. No other cars were involved, just the one. Sounds like the wind blew a tree down and in the smoke she didn’t see it. Drove straight into it and the rest of the tree collapsed onto her car.’
‘Is she alone?’
‘Haven’t heard.’
‘Is it anywhere near the fire?’
‘I don’t know. Steve’s going to brief us on the way. Come on, let’s rock and roll.’
‘Let’s go, people,’ Steve shouted at the same time.
Steve and Ben, along with two younger volunteers, Todd and Paul, plus Eddie and Richard, their driver, all clambered onto the truck. Eddie was used to being the only female on the crew most days and it didn’t bother her. The mood inside the vehicle was tense as everyone continued to get ready. Ben passed over a pair of latex gloves, and Eddie slipped them on her damp hands then pulled on the heavier work gloves over the top. Once she had her protective eyewear in place there was nothing to do except sit, wait and listen as Steve assigned roles and reminded everyone what their job was.
The Yallambah SES unit was a small team and Eddie was one of only a handful of members who had the qualification of RCR, or Road Crash Rescue. Everyone was trained in first aid, but tonight, because Eddie was a nurse and one of the most senior members of the team, she would be in charge of the casualty. If the paramedics hadn’t arrived by the time they got there, it would be Eddie’s job to keep the driver alive if necessary.
Todd and Paul were the tool operators and their job would be to activate the heavy cutters and spreaders. Ben was on safety duty, looking out for hazards and dealing with any that threatened the safety of either the team members or the casualty – in this case, watching for any spot fires or flying embers.
They travelled the familiar road from Yallambah to Osbornes Flat, fear clutching at Eddie’s throat the entire way. She peered out the window and saw nothing but smoke. It was getting darker – whether because of smoke or storm clouds, Eddie wasn’t sure. Then she saw flames.
She tapped Steve on the arm. ‘I thought you said the accident was nowhere near the fires?’ She had to shout over the noise.
Steve stared into the smoky haze and shrugged. ‘That’ll be the crew from Stanley doing back-burning.’
‘Buggered if I know how you can tell the difference,’ Paul said, leaning forward.
He grinned at Eddie and she resisted the urge to roll her eyes. He was still a newbie and this was his first accident. Eddie bet a million bucks he wouldn’t be grinning in half an hour. More likely vomiting. She recalled her first reaction to a fatal roadside crash. It hadn’t been pleasant.
The silence was tense. No one exchanged a word or a look as they stared out the front window, waiting for the headlights to pick up the accident site. They turned off the main road onto a gravel road, more of a bush track. What was the driver doing down here? Were they lost? Had the smoke confused and disorientated them? Or did they live out this way?
Seconds later the headlights picked out the gleam of metal and Eddie’s stomach churned again. As they neared the accident scene, it was worse than she’d first imagined. The roof of the car was caved in and the driver’s door crushed into the side of a massive gum tree, the impact causing a branch to splinter from the tree where it lay sideways across the car. It was almost impossible to make out the front and rear sections of the vehicle.
Eddie swallowed past the massive lump in her throat and jumped from the truck. Her stomach twisted in knots and it took every ounce of professionalism to walk and not run to the car. They needed to ensure there was no danger to themselves first. The air was thick with the smell of dust and petrol and blood, and her eyes stung from the inescapable eucalyptus-infused smoke. She stared at the mashed-up car and forced back nausea. Surely no one could have survived that. Had the driver’s age or inexperience caused the accident? Had they been going too fast on an unfamiliar country road trying to escape the fire? But her job wasn’t to ask questions. Right now the driver was someone’s family member and Eddie’s job was to get her out of the car in one piece. It was up to the police to determine the cause of the accident.
They were already on the scene, having been alerted by a passing farmer who then helped the police secure the area before the SES got there. When they gave the all-clear that it was safe to approach, Eddie jogged over to the car. The smell of petrol was stronger the closer she got, and in the distance she could hear the roar of the fire as it inhaled the tinder-dry foliage.
‘How far away is that thing?’ she asked Steve.
‘You’re safe for now,’ he replied. ‘Just get in there and do your job. We’re watching out for any spot fires.’
Getting as close as she dared, Eddie ducked down to peer into the car. From her angle she couldn’t see the driver’s face.
‘Hey. My name’s Eddie. Can you hear me?’ She squeezed the woman’s hands but got nothing in return. Her pulse was thready and weak and Eddie could hear her laboured breathing. At least that meant her airway was open, but until they removed her from the vehicle, Eddie wouldn’t be able to do a thorough assessment.
‘The driver still with us?’ Steve called down to her.
‘Just.’
Behind her, the whir of the truck’s generator started up. Eddie stepped back, her boots crunching on broken glass. She scanned the area. ‘It’s not going to be easy to get her out,’ she told Ben. ‘I’ll need you to clear away that branch as quickly as you can.’
‘Todd and Paul are on it already.’
‘Can they move any quicker?’ she asked
‘Doing what we can, Eddie,’ Steve replied.
Seconds later the entire scene was lit up like a stage on opening night, but visibility was still limited from all the smoke.
‘Good timing,’ Ben said, pointing to a truck from Beechworth that had arrived and was backing into position.
Soon hydraulic motors were starting up and everyone was doing their jobs, better than any training exercise they’d ever done. Todd and Paul circled the car and even though it was rammed into a tree they worked quickly and methodically to wedge blocks around the tyres to ensure it didn’t budge. As much as Eddie wanted them to hurry, she knew they were doing what they were trained to do and wouldn’t take any chances. The car was perched nose down towards a ditch and pinned under a branch, but without the handbrake engaged one wrong move could cause it to roll down the embankment.
In the background the generator ran steadily, adding the smell of diesel to the smoky air. The noise kicked up a notch when Paul and Todd began clearing the fallen branch. They chopped it into sections in no time, then started on the car. It protested audibly as the panels gave way under the force applied by the spreaders. The side panel caved, making a grinding, metal against metal sound.
When it was safe Eddie went back to the driver to work on removing her. She leaned in and her stomach coiled.
Jenny Baxter.
Eddie swore.
‘Get a move on, guys,’ she bellowed. ‘It’s Harry’s mum.’ Eddie shook Jenny’s arm. ‘Jenny. Can you hear me? Open your eyes. Can you squeeze my hand?’ No response. ‘Hurry up guys!’ She bent down close. ‘It’s going to get really noisy, Jenny, but don’t worry, okay?’ She unfolded a sheet of plastic. ‘I’m just putting this over you to protect you from any flying metal or glass. It’s not for long. We’ll get you out as quickly as we can, I promise. Hold on.’
Moments later the hydraulics of the cutter whirred and whined. Eddie held her breath and waited. Finally with another ripping crunch the back door gave way. The car shuddered and slipped to one side.
Eddie froze. ‘Are we stable?’ she shouted over the din.
Ben checked the blocks. ‘Good now,’ he called back.
‘Steve, can you pass down the backboard and neck collar?’ Eddie asked.
‘Eddie, you need to give us some room,’ Paul huffed.
‘C’mon, Ed,’ Ben said, dragging her away from the car. ‘You know the motto: make haste slowly. I know you hate waiting but give the guys some breathing space. They’ll get her out and you can check her over again.’
There was nothing Eddie could do except wait.
At one point, Ben was cutting a part of the car away, mere centimetres from Jenny’s leg. It was a painstakingly slow process before they finally peeled back the front passenger side door from the body of the car, giving them access to the vehicle. Todd covered the jagged metal with a blanket of dense, rip-proof material that hung from a piece of PVC pipe.
Eddie squeezed past him and felt for Jenny’s pulse again. Weaker. She pressed two fingers into her carotid pulse. Almost imperceptible. Grabbing a medical torch from her back pocket Eddie shone it in Jenny’s eyes. Pupils were sluggish. Not a good sign. She checked her pulse again. This time nothing.
‘We need her out now!’ Eddie screamed. There was no point worrying about spinal injuries if she was already dead.
Everyone reached in to help and seconds later Jenny was on her back in the long dry grass and Eddie was checking her airway again. Open. Thank God for something. Ben tossed her the bag-valve-mask resuscitator and Eddie placed the mask over Jenny’s face, tipping her head back as she delivered life-saving breaths.
‘How far away are the paramedics, Steve?’ Eddie asked without looking up.
‘About five minutes.’
‘I don’t have five minutes,’ she snapped, placing her hands on Jenny’s sternum and starting CPR. ‘Where’s the defib?’
Richard appeared and dumped the defibrillator beside her, unzipping the bag and pulling out the chest pads.
‘Can you take over from me?’ Eddie asked Ben, without looking up.
‘Yep,’ he replied, edging his hands into position.
While Ben continued chest compressions, Eddie cut off Jenny’s blood-stained top and attached the pads to her bare skin. Seconds later she glanced at the screen then at Ben. The rhythm was unshockable. ‘Get back on her chest.’
‘That’s thirty,’ Ben said, soon after.
Eddie squeezed the bag-valve-mask twice. ‘Swap with me at the end of the next set.’
‘I’m fine,’ he replied.
Eddie was grateful. In her heavy suit she was baking. It felt like the fire was right on top of them.
Three more rounds of compressions later she said, ‘Stop for a second, Ben, and let me check for a rhythm again.’
Ben lifted his hands from Jenny’s chest and his eyes met hers, reflecting her worry.
Eddie pressed a button on the defibrillator. ‘Analysing rhythm,’ she called out with as much confidence as she could muster. She watched the monitor. As soon as the wide and fast waveform scrolled across the screen, her own heart kicked in her chest. ‘It’s shockable!’ she yelled. ‘Stand clear.’
Eddie delivered the shock. Jenny’s body jerked and a beautiful sinus rhythm danced across the screen, in time for the arrival of the paramedics.
She turned to give Ben a high-five when Steve shouted out to them. ‘Eddie! Ben! Get over here now. There’s an old guy in the back seat under a blanket. He’s alive!’
Damn, damn, damn! It had to be Jim. Fear kicked Eddie in the gut and she staggered to her feet. Why hadn’t anyone checked the back seat of the car? It was basic protocol for God’s sake. Why had they assumed the driver was the only one in the car?
As she bolted over to the car the radio crackled, then Richard shouted, ‘Stop! Wait! We’ve gotta move now! Fire’s over the ridge and moving fast.’
‘Get him to the dam, now!’ Eddie shrieked, pointing in the direction of a large dam she’d spotted when they’d arrived and before the smoke had come across.
Then another voice joined the fray. ‘Wait!’ Ben cried. ‘I have a problem here. I’ve lost her pulse.’