Emergency services stories

In summer 2019/20 Australia experienced the worst bushfires on record.

by John Richardson, National Resilience Adviser, Red Cross

Inspiration from a tough year.

A Red Cross volunteer for 28 years, Jennet was the sole emergency services volunteer on hand when bushfires swept through the Cann River region in Victoria last summer.

After 2020’s devastating bushfires, the community of Mt Beauty came together to recover – and prepare for the next disaster.

Recovering from last summer's bushfires has been tough for Matt, but the support he has received from Red Cross - thanks to your donations - has helped him keep going.

Art workshops are helping bushfire communities heal.

The people alongside to help survive the disaster came from just over the fence.

Jack Wotton says he is taking every day as a new day after this summer’s bushfires destroyed his family’s home near the village of Cobargo, in south-east New South Wales.

For Sherrie Nye, the summer bushfires didn’t just devastate her hometown of Mogo, they tore at the heart of her very being. But the months afterwards have shown the strength within Sherrie, her family and community.

Many bushfire survivors in Mogo are coming forward for help for the first time. Local resident Richard Adams is grateful to all the people whose donations and kindness continue to make that support possible.

On an isolated cattle farm that was hit hard by the Black Summer bushfires the Sturgess family are building a new home for their friend Smiley, with the help of two Red Cross emergency relief grants.

Meet some of the people you’ve helped get back on their feet after the bushfires.

Marianne was four when she learned to swim. Every weekend her grandmother took her and her brothers to the Mitchell River in East Gippsland.

How neighbours really can be your best friends during any traumatic time in your life.

A vegetable garden re-grows hope for a family after fire tears through their home and dreams.

Household items salvaged from the ashes are being turned into artworks that tell a story of recovery.

How fire-fighters are using first aid and mental health first aid taught by Red Cross to help during this season’s devastating bushfires.

Deb Egan knows the tangible power of a listening ear, a smile and a simple cup of tea to someone caught up in a crisis like this summer’s bushfires.

Kim’s family lost everything during the 3 January bushfires that ravaged Kangaroo Island. But from the wreckage comes a new start and a much-needed financial buffer.

Disasters can be distressing and stressful and you don’t have to be directly involved to be affected. Find out how to look after yourself and others in the wake of the Black Summer bushfires.

These are the steps we take to provide financial assistance to people affected by the bushfires.

Peter and his wife lost everything in the January 3rd bushfires that ravaged large swathes of Kangaroo Island. But with the devastation comes a tale of recovery.

Red Cross volunteer Kacey Lam gives this first-hand account of outreach visits to people recovering after the fires.