Name: Gary Thomas
Rank/Position: Village Firefighter & Station Officer, in charge of the Brigade building maintenance.
Age: 53
Birthplace: Illinois, USA.
What brought you to Kangaroo Valley? A job. I am a canoe guide and a science teacher, and The Scots College were looking for someone who was a canoe guide and a science teacher.
Marital Status: Married since 1995 to Katrina Thomas.
Children: Three boys, Daniel, Noah and Joseph.
Current profession: Electrician
When did you join the RFS? 2019
What motivated you to join? I wanted to join for years, but I was a Scout Master and a Cub Leader for 12 years. When the last of our three boys finished up, I joined the RFS. I had fought fires when I was in university. The US Forest Service training was only two weekends long, and when there were big forest fires there were thousands of people they could call on. You did the most basic of tasks. I have always lived and worked in the bush so I thought I would have the skillset to help.
What is most rewarding to you being a volunteer with the brigade? It sounds cheesy, but we have been here so long and we know almost everyone. I feel like I am able to help people I know or am affiliated with.
What was your role in the Currowan fire? At that time I was a basic firefighter. Starting in November, going down south to join crews, and then gradually moving closer and closer to home as the fires kept spreading north, eventually fighting the fire here for two to three weeks in the Valley.
Who is your mentor(s)? My uncle Tom. He was my scout leader, like a surrogate dad; he was great.
How does being a volunteer benefit you personally? Makes me part of the community.
What advice would you give those wishing to volunteer? There is a job for everyone in the RFS. You don’t have to think you are going to single-handedly drag a 60m fire hose around filled with water. There are lots of tasks. People have different interests and skills, and they can all be put to use. People who are in IT, we are always needing that. Comms, you know, we need people like that too.
Do you have a funny story you can share? Jaxon Boyle and Angus Gripper, they were young and very photogenic. Our Captain Dusty didn’t want to be bothered by the journalists hanging around. There were non-stop journalists here for days. There was also a European film crew doing a documentary. So, Dusty told the journos, if you need to talk to anyone, you need to speak to those two guys, they are the Community Liaison Officers (laughing). They wouldn’t leave the young guys alone; it got so bad that Jaxon and Angus went into hiding right in the bushes back there behind the shed.
What makes you smile? Good sunrises and sunsets.
What cartoon character most resembles you? Foghorn Leghorn. It is the big rooster that never shuts up!
What were you like as a kid? Bizarrely enough, small, short, shy and stuttered. I didn’t come out of my shell until I was about 13.
What did you want to be when you grew up? A doctor.
What was your best subject at school? Science.
What inspires you? I love stories where people do the right thing, even if it costs them to do so. People who stand up for what is right are my heroes.
If you could be any age for a week, what would it be? I liked my 30s. Just a little bit wiser than your 20s and still physically fit.
Who is your favourite author? John Steinbeck: The Grapes of Wrath, Of Mice and Men, Cannery Row.
Who is your favourite Band? The Who.
What is your weirdest characteristic? Webbed toes.
What keeps you going? My family.
What piece of clothing do you wear the most? My RFS hat.
What cheers you up the most? Some interactions with people. They cheer me up and remind me that maybe the world is not so bad after all.
Explain yourself in five words: Eccentric, talkative, determined, loyal, tenacious.
Interviewer – Tracey Basman
