On February 16, 1983, South Australia was changed forever when a bushfire tore across the state, 40 years on many are looking back on what is remembered as one of the most devastating events in the country's history.
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The fires, which were spread from the Adelaide Hills, to the Mid North and down to the South East, wiped out more than 2000 square kilometres and killed 28 people.
South East CFS member Rex Hall attended the fires in the South East on the day following the blaze and said the memory of Ash Wednesday was burnt into his mind.
"We didn't go to the fire the first day because somebody had to stay home," he said.
"But from 5.30am we knew it was going to be a shocking day and we offered our support from Willalooka with whatever we could do.
"We went down the next morning at first light and jumped on the Spence truck and we just spent the whole day patrolling and looking for outbreaks.
"I can't explain the devastation we saw on that day, the loss of properties, forests and livestock was unimaginable but the worst thing was knowing lives were lost - everything else can be replaced but you can't replace a person."
Marking 40 years since the day, the first CFS Bushfire Resilience Day was held today at the CFS headquarters in Adelaide.
The anniversary was chosen as a day to remember and honour lives lost to bushfires in the state, acknowledge the strength and resilience of those who have recovered and adapted to their changed lives, and to encourage positive actions for individuals and communities in preparing for the next bushfire.
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CFS Chief Officer Brett Loughlin AFSM said the service would recognise the impact bushfires had and would continue to have on all South Australians, while providing a platform to highlight the recovery and resilience of all South Australians.
"Today is a pivotal moment in the CFS' history, as we pause to reflect on the impact bushfires have had on our community and how far we, as state and as an agency, have come following these devastating events," Chief Officer Loughlin said.
"CFS volunteers are the backbone of our agency and ensuring their safety and wellbeing will always be of the upmost importance, so they are prepared to overcome adversity and can emerge stronger, better prepared, and ready for the next challenges in protecting their community.
"Each and every year, incidents occur across South Australia that do not register on the state's wider awareness, but for everyone in the CFS - we are there for every loss and every impact that occurs, and it is our unyielding promise that we always will be."
CFS Para Group Officer Rob Styling AFSM OAM said the Ash Wednesday bushfire was the worst he had experienced.
"The dust was so bad I couldn't see 100 metres in front of me and the wind was just unbelievable," he said.
"I've seen both Ash Wednesdays, I went to Sydney in 1994 and 2001, went to the Victorian fires two or three times and whilst some of those impacts are equally as bad, Ash Wednesday (in 1983) and the just the whole impact on the day is probably the worst thing I've seen.
"I've only been involved in two burn overs in my career and they were on that day."
Mr Styling was called tasked with fighting the front behind Tea Tree Gully at Anstey Hill and said when his unit arrived at the blaze they were met with chaos.
"The fire was roaring up the hill behind houses straight at us with some houses just seeming to spontaneously combust," he said.
"In the chaos we kicked in the door of the nearest house and sheltered in there until we could safely leave and subsequently saved the house.
"Communication had been bad that day and we were actually aren't aware that they were trucks further down the road that have also been caught in the burn over and a number of those crew had been severely injured."
Since Ash Wednesday, the CFS has made significant changes and improvements with state-of-the-art equipment, a highly trained and professional volunteer base, safe systems of work and becoming a state-funded organisation to enable members to safely respond to bushfires.
Now four decades on, Mr Starling said his experience on the day was a stark difference from what firefighters experience on a fireground today.
"There was no standard appliance type, protective equipment consisted of khaki overalls and rubber gunboats and if you were lucky they had steel toed cap," he said.
"Breathing protection consisted of a triangular bandage often soaked in water to cool you down.
"There are now significant safety systems on trucks, our protective clothing is state of the art, we have aerial resources that can assist in understanding where the fires are going, what the fire behaviour is and we can be far more strategic in fighting fires as opposed to defend and chase as we did on Ash Wednesday.
"But there is always more we can do and developing resilience and support for our current and future firefighters, as well as our communities, is extremely important."
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Katie Jackson
Journalist at Stock Journal. Born into a journo family in the state's South East, Katie made the move to the big smoke to join the team in early 2022 after seven years spent at various mastheads in the regions.
Journalist at Stock Journal. Born into a journo family in the state's South East, Katie made the move to the big smoke to join the team in early 2022 after seven years spent at various mastheads in the regions.
