It started on a farm with three kilometres of fencing gone and a question in the local paper.
In the wake of the 2009 Black Saturday Bushfires, Melissa Jones and her family stared at what the flames had left behind of their farm.
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“My mum put a small ad in the local newspaper asking for some help to put our fence back up,” she says.
“We had 25 people turn up and the fences were done within a week.
“Since then, my mum said we have to pay the help forward to our neighbours, and that’s how BlazeAid began.”
BlazeAid grabs an army of volunteers who assist rural property owners following a natural disaster, primarily rebuilding farm fencing.
What started as neighbours helping each other out during a rough time, has transformed into an organisation that can help change lives.
“The importance of fencing is almost like a house to some farmers, because if they don’t have their fences, they can’t contain their stock, and if they can’t contain their stock, then they have no income,” she says.
But beyond that, Melissa says the amount of time that it takes, and the cost involved is extraordinary.
“There was an estimated five or six hundred kilometres of ruined fencing after the Grampian fires. A property owner got a quote for $26,000 per kilometre to rebuild a fence. Some property owners have got 100 kilometres down. You can’t even imagine the financial burden that would cost somebody.
“If you were to do it yourself – depending on the terrain and the soil type – it would take around a kilometre per month, so a long, long, long time to be without income.”
BlazeAid has had a whopping 40,000 volunteers walk through their doors, who have cleared and rebuilt about 40,000 kilometres of fencing across Australia, had 225 base camps set up around the country and contributed an estimate of $400 million towards disaster recovery in Australia.
When Deals on Wheels spoke to Melissa in late April, BlazeAid were busy in Victoria with two camps set, 40 to 60 volunteers helping out each day and were just launching a job in flood-stricken Queensland, a job Melissa describes as “absolutely massive”.
“It’s comparable to the 2019-2020 Black Summer bushfires, but in flood respects. I think we’ll have about five or six camps up there, and at the moment, we’ve had about 200 people offer assistance,” she says.
Moving volunteers and gear across the whole of Australia is no small feat. Thankfully, BlazeAid has a powerful partner, Isuzu Trucks.
So far Isuzu has donated two trucks to the organisation, but there are more on their way.
These six seaters are used to transport trailers full of tools, as well as the BlazeAid team to work, driving them lengthy 10 hour journeys trekking across rural land.
“The Isuzu trucks are just diamonds,” Melissa says. “They’re on the go 24/7, thank god Isuzu is such a reliable truck that we can use all the time, it’s a real blessing.”
But while the logistics are enormous, the emotional weight is even heavier.
When Melissa talks about the people BlazeAid helps, you can understand why it means as much as it does.
“To hear the stories of heartache that some people are going through is a lot. If we look at the Queensland floods, a lot of those farmers have lost 90 to 95 per cent of their herds and stock,” she says.
“I’ve spoken to a farmer who has spent the last two weeks burying their cattle. Farmers love their animals, so a lot of them are on the brink of suicide at times. To get to them quickly and to be able to help enough to save them from what they’re going through, as well as their own feelings, is a challenge.”
The people BlazeAid are helping aren’t just dealing with financial loss, but also grief and trauma, and can be teetering on the edge as a result.
But while this job has its moments of heartbreak, the reward is worth it for Melissa.
“At times they’ll ring us six months down the track when they’re in a better mind space and tell us that if BlazeAid weren’t there, they weren’t sure what they would have done. It’s both challenging and intensely rewarding,” she says.
Despite the challenges, Melissa remains fiercely optimistic about BlazeAid’s future. Her hope is to grow the organisation’s capacity to respond even faster.
“We want to be where we are needed as quickly as possible and boost our volunteer numbers, so our farmers – who keep this country going in many ways and keep food on our table – feel like they’re getting support from all over Australia,” she says.
“Farming is a really tough profession, and if we don’t put our hands up and give people the help when they need it most, then what kind of society do we live in?
“It’s a beautiful job we have here at BlazeAid to be able to help others when they’re in their greatest need and all we want from it, is a thank you. That’s it! It’s the joy of giving, isn’t it?!”
BlazeAid doesn’t ask for much. Just for volunteers to roll their hard working sleeves up and for some compassion from others.
“I honestly think I have the best job in the world,” Melissa says.
“Every day, I get to see the best of humanity in people who show up, give their time, do a good few days hard work, and give themselves to this work without want of reward.”
“My philosophy is simple; if you have the will and the way to help others, then you should. And this is something that we do every day, and it’s an absolute blessing.”
And thanks to Melissa, her mum’s simple promise and the growing army of compassionate Aussies, BlazeAid is saving lives — one fence post at a time.
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