Fire Fighting Training

I am now well into the fieldwork/data collection part of my PhD. It's going really well although I still suffer from occasional panic attacks from the enormity of the task ahead and the uncertainty of having people as your object of study! Trees or rocks seem so exceptionally simple in comparison - especially when it comes to the organisational side of things! But whenever I am out in the field interviewing people or doing participant observation I am reminded why I am a social geographer. People are fascinating creatures!

I had a fantastic opportunity to take my fieldwork to the next level a couple of weekends ago in Windellama - the southern most region of my three study areas in the Southern Tablelands. The local Rural Fire Service brigade captain had invited me to attend their Basic Fire Fighting training course, which they run for new voluntary brigade members. It was a great opportunity for local landholders to put a face to my name, as they all received a copy of my postal survey a couple of months ago. For me it was an equally great opportunity to learn more about fires, whilst covertly eyeing up potential interview 'victims'.

Winter is truly over us down under and the beautiful crisp winter air in the Southern Tableland reminded me of Europe. Watching the steam from my breath and scraping ice of my car windows in the mornings was a first for me since moving to Oz. It was most enjoyable writing up my field notes from the day in front of a burning fire each evening.