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Speaker 1: Need a lift.

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Speaker 2: It's will and woody woods. Let's get down to brass tacks.

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Speaker 2: Massive story today in around the bushfires and the fact

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Speaker 2: that these blokes prioritized Russell Crowe's home.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, it was pretty interesting to read that story. But look,

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Speaker 3: I didn't believe it when I saw it. I didn't

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Speaker 3: think the authorities would do that. And to confirm that

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Speaker 3: we've got one of the New South Wales fire fighting

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Speaker 3: captain's will.

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Speaker 2: That's right, Jeff Luca's the captain of the New South

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Speaker 2: Wales Rural Fire Service. He joins us on the phone

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Speaker 2: right now, fresh from fighting the fires right at the

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Speaker 2: coal face. Jeff, how are you good?

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Speaker 1: Mate? Good? How are you mate?

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Speaker 2: I'm so so grateful that you decided to come on

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Speaker 2: the show. I know obviously it's been an incredibly hectic

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Speaker 2: time after you guys, I know you've been fighting fires

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Speaker 2: twenty to thirty k's inland from Coffs Harbor. You've been

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Speaker 2: at the coal face of this thing. And I suppose

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Speaker 2: that's probably the appropriate metaphor, isn't it?

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Speaker 1: Like what pretty much?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, what's the most hectic thing to deal with in

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Speaker 2: that scenario? Like? Can you really paint a picture? For

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Speaker 2: us in terms of fire fire that scale, in terms

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Speaker 2: of just the raw human experience, the things that you

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Speaker 2: have to deal with.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, at the time, your world tenders around your crew.

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Speaker 1: I mean for me as a crew leader, I'm concerned

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Speaker 1: about my crew and what they're doing. If they're safe,

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Speaker 1: that's great. I can move on to the next task,

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Speaker 1: which is making sure the property we're looking after is safe.

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Speaker 1: But that also changes when the fire decides it's going

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Speaker 1: to crown right next to you, which when you say

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Speaker 1: crowns it's in the top of the trees. That's when

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Speaker 1: you're starting to look at thirty forty if you made

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Speaker 1: a flame heighth wow, and you've got animals that are

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Speaker 1: absolutely petrified and horses that are trying to escape these flames.

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Speaker 1: So you're trying to get the horses help without getting

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Speaker 1: yourself caught at the same time. And all these things

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Speaker 1: are going through your head at about fivefairs and miles

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Speaker 1: an hour. And then when you sit down and you

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Speaker 1: think about it later and you think, well, if something

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Speaker 1: had happened to me, somebody would have to go into

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Speaker 1: all my family that who wasn't coming home, But you

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Speaker 1: don't think about it at a time because your crew's

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Speaker 1: work with you and they're looking out for you.

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Speaker 4: And yeah, but again Jeff, and it's just a huge

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Speaker 4: credit to you and everyone who works on that that

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Speaker 4: you are willing to put your life on the line

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Speaker 4: to save other lives and other properties.

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Speaker 1: Mate, Well to put it into perspective, guys, I mean

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Speaker 1: my my town where I live is as the crow Flys,

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Speaker 1: ten fifteen kilometers from Narna, Glenn and the local guys,

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Speaker 1: the local Mana Glen Brigade, they were also worried about

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Speaker 1: their own homes, but they are ound there by side

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Speaker 1: with us, working with us, and just a concern on

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Speaker 1: their face. As I just said to one of them,

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Speaker 1: is the mate, if you want to go go home,

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Speaker 1: we've got to back. You had not got to do this.

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Speaker 3: Wow, so special.

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Speaker 2: How do you go about controlling your fear when you're

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Speaker 2: going into a file like that? You know, I know

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Speaker 2: that you're doing a very brave thing, But is there

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Speaker 2: any part of it where you're thinking to yourself like

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Speaker 2: I'm genuinely shitting myself here, like you know I could die?

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Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah there is. But at that time you also

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Speaker 1: lean on your mates that you got with you, and

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Speaker 1: you're pulled together as one and that'll get you through.

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Speaker 1: And you talk about it downtime, Yeah, right, when you

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Speaker 1: had a bit of downtime. You're trying not to think

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Speaker 1: about it at the time because otherwise you're yeah, you're

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Speaker 1: just going to lose your proverbial. But afterwards, we're driving home,

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Speaker 1: we're talking about what we saw, what we did and

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Speaker 1: making sure each other's okay.

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Speaker 3: Sounds like amazing camaraderie, Jeff. And speaking of comaraderie, there's

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Speaker 3: been a bit of who in the media about Russell

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Speaker 3: Crowe and a prioritization that was put on his property. Yeah,

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Speaker 3: that was the rumors that were circling around. But Jeff,

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Speaker 3: you've got some insight on this that that's not true,

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Speaker 3: is it?

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Speaker 1: No, not at all. If because of the flat ex border,

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Speaker 1: the expense of the land around Russell's place, if we

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Speaker 1: hadn't been able to use that as a so.

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Speaker 2: He offered that he offered the place up as a shelter.

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Speaker 2: That's what the well for you, for you guys to

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Speaker 2: have a bit of a base. Because the news report

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Speaker 2: is that the trucks were going to Russell's place almost

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Speaker 2: like as him requiring that selfishly on him getting a priority.

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Speaker 2: But you're saying Asia, So you're saying he put his

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Speaker 2: hand up and said, hey, you guys can use my

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Speaker 2: place if you needed.

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Speaker 1: Security, guarden groundsman. We're all there making sure that we

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Speaker 1: knew what was where and how to get to it

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Speaker 1: so that way we could use that as a fallback position.

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Speaker 1: The got passed us there. Yeah, the rest of Nanna

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Speaker 1: Glenn was in a lot of trouble. Wow.

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Speaker 2: So Jeff, I mean like at the end of all this,

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Speaker 2: I mean, thank you so much for joining us. Amazing

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Speaker 2: effort what you guys have pulled off, and even just

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Speaker 2: to hear about what you're talking about there, like just

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Speaker 2: the psychological toll of you know, getting up every morning

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Speaker 2: and putting yourself in a life threatening scenario every single day.

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Speaker 2: I can't imagine you know, physically doing that, but then

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Speaker 2: you know mentally, So nice to hear what you're saying

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Speaker 2: now in terms of the camaraderie and the collegiate atmosphere

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Speaker 2: that you guys are built in order to get around

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Speaker 2: each other and help through that process you.

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Speaker 1: Pick each other up. There's thousands of us just like

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Speaker 1: my guys. Yeah, and thousands of different stories. But we're

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Speaker 1: all got the same goal in mind, and that's looking

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Speaker 1: after each other and looking after the community.

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Speaker 2: Well mate, on behalf of us and everybody else that

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Speaker 2: listens to us. I think thank you is probably the.

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Speaker 1: Right word you most welcome guys. Thank you for putting

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Speaker 1: the story out there anytime.

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Speaker 2: Mate, Thanks for joining us.

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Speaker 3: Jeff.

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Speaker 2: Remarkable stuff there that is Jeff Luke's the captain of

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Speaker 2: the South Wales Rule Fire Service, been fighting the fires

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Speaker 2: over the last four or five days. Incredible story and

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Speaker 2: if there's any more inspiration to get along to the

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Speaker 2: Red Cross bush fire appeal, then I don't. I don't

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Speaker 2: think they can begin anymore than listening to that. Remember tomorrow,

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Speaker 2: our entire show is devoted to the bushfire relief. Make

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Speaker 2: sure you're listening. It will be a Crackerjack show. A

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Speaker 2: lot of different opportunities to donate throughout it. You can

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Speaker 2: get onto Instagram, Facebook, Will and Woody, click on our

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Speaker 2: bio you can donate now all ready see what you're hearing.

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Speaker 2: Find us on Instagram and Facebook search Will and Woody