When a bush fire raged in the Gascoyne during the Christmas of 2006, Chris Reid was one of the brave volunteer fire-fighters leading the community to fight the blaze.

Chris has been involved with the Gascoyne Volunteer Bush Fire Brigade for over three years, maintaining the fire trucks and equipment and also volunteering as a fire-fighter.

A plumber by trade, Chris has re-piped the fire shed so the trucks can now be filled with water immediately on-site. Previously, the trucks had to be taken into town to be filled – quite an inconvenience since the fire shed is 9 km out of town!

When there are no fires to be fought, Chris works with Rio Tinto Minerals as a Brine Supply Officer. Rio Tinto supports the Brigade by giving employees who are among the 15 volunteers time off work to attend call-outs. Rio Tinto has funded UHF radios and a storage tank for the organisation to ensure available water.

These volunteers are constantly ready to respond to bushfires in the district. As well as fighting fires, they also take measures to stop the bush fires occurring. These measures include back-burning and controlled burning every second month.

Chris is one of many Rio Tinto employees that are actively involved in their communities. By volunteering his own time, Chris helps sustain a service that the Gascoyne community literally could not survive without.