A DAYin the LIFE of a marine firefighter
Stephen Bourke’s childhood dream came true, but it certainly took time. Here, Stephen talks to us about life as a marine firefighter with the Melbourne Metropolitan Fire Brigade.
Few people would abandon the safety of their office job to risk life and limb working as a marine firefighter for the Melbourne Fire Brigade. But at age 38 Stephen Bourke sat the entrance exam with 5000 others and rolled the dice. ‘I got one of only 30 positions available in the recruit program,’ he said. ‘I had a midlife crisis and made a change of occupation. I had been an insurance company worker with a desk job. I administered work-cover claims. ‘That was 15 years ago. Now, I work at the Port of Melbourne fire station. I’m a qualified deck hand and marine firefighter.’ 15
Working Boats December 2018
Stephen had wanted to work in emergency services since he was a boy and has always had an affinity with the water. He lives at Bonbeach, in Melbourne’s south east, and is an active member of the Gunnamatta Surf Live Saving Club patrolling some of Victoria’s most dangerous waves. What kinds of vessels do you work with? ‘We have two large vessels and six smaller ones.’ ‘Fireboat one is Abyss—a 10.5-metre catamaran that draws up seawater and sprays it from a water cannon that moves 4500 litres per minute. It’s a four-person crewed vessel.’
‘Fireboat two is Prometheus—a 12-metre vessel that can travel at speeds over 32 knots. ‘We also have fire trucks.’ What are your typical duties? ‘Each day is a bit of a raffle. We respond to floods, fires and explosions on vessels,’ he said. ‘We also respond to pollution that flows into the port and we go out with booms and soakers, working closely with the Environmental Protection Agency to manage pollution. We also respond to inaccessible fires that cannot be fought from land due to cliffs. In these cases we come around the seaward side to put it out.’
