A lot happens to a community in 30 years and 5 months - from the 1997 Thredbo landslide, 2004 Old Bega Hospital fire, 2018 Tathra fires, and 19/20 Black Summer.
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Fire and Rescue NSW Bega captain Gerard Hanscombe has experienced it all, but after three decades on the job, he has decided to hang up his uniform for the final time.
"My time's finished, time to pass the baton on to someone else," Gerard said. He joined the brigade after his father-in-law Ernie Vinecombe, who had 52 years with Fire and Rescue, invited him along.
"It didn't take too much persuading. I wanted to give something back to the local community. I was a member of the Bega Lions Club before that, and the only reason I gave up Lions was because the nights were the same."
One of the first major disasters Gerard remembered attending was the Thredbo landslide where 18 people were killed after the landslide pushed Carinya Lodge off its foundations onto Bimbadeen Lodge at high speed.
![Fire and Rescue NSW Bega captain Gerard Hanscombe. Picture by Jimmy Parker Fire and Rescue NSW Bega captain Gerard Hanscombe. Picture by Jimmy Parker](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/205490442/afdca6f3-011d-4a78-9502-8d03f27b6e10.jpg/r224_305_3916_2339_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"We were probably lucky in a way because all the bodies had just been removed, so we were more or less there cleaning up. We were there the day before it started to snow, and everything went from one colour to all white," he said of the horrific event.
Gerard can still vividly recall witnessing his friends houses burn down during the Tathra fires, with nothing he could do, as trees exploded around him, a time he described as Armageddon.
"After all that, I thought we wouldn't see that again, and then 2019/20 came and that was worse than 2018, it was horrific what we went through. I actually gave up three quarters of my Christmas Day to do a task force off Ulladulla," he recalled.
![Gerard standing between the older fire engine on the left and the new engine on the right. Picture by Jimmy Parker Gerard standing between the older fire engine on the left and the new engine on the right. Picture by Jimmy Parker](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/205490442/2306e584-4d3f-4d42-bf24-247fc97f161c.jpg/r0_466_4032_2733_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"During that time I had my son [with me], who was in the brigade for nearly eight years, and he was my pump operator, so I was quite proud to be a father with my son there and also have your father-in-law there as well."
Of all the things he had accomplished one of his proudest achievements was that he had never had someone injured while on his watch, with all those serving during fire and rescue missions returning to family unscathed.
He had also participated in rescues, and while he noted their firefighting gear was a lot better for fighting fires allowing you to work in extreme temperatures, Gerard said the rescue kit could become heavy and hot.
![2020: Bega MP Andrew Constance and Fire and Rescue NSW Chief Superintendent Greg Buckley handed over the keys to a new state-of-the-art tanker to Bega fire captain Gerard Hanscombe. Picture by Ben Smyth 2020: Bega MP Andrew Constance and Fire and Rescue NSW Chief Superintendent Greg Buckley handed over the keys to a new state-of-the-art tanker to Bega fire captain Gerard Hanscombe. Picture by Ben Smyth](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/205490442/3607621a-a7ad-4ae0-b37f-8604c8c27c06.jpeg/r0_560_6000_3947_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"If you're doing search and rescue, you're right in with the fire, you've got a breathing apparatus, cylinder on your back, and you've only got 10 to 15 minutes max, " the 59-year-old said.
"You've got to go in, it's all part of the job. You can't have second thoughts, if you do, the job's not for you."
During his service, Bega firefighters claimed the state championship crown during the NSW Firefighter Championships in 2016, 2017 and first at Gunnedah Regional Championship in 2018.
Skills and teamwork which translated from competition to real world situations.
![Bega team lift up the trophy after winning the regional firefighting championship in 2017. Picture by Robert Hayson Photography Bega team lift up the trophy after winning the regional firefighting championship in 2017. Picture by Robert Hayson Photography](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/205490442/64bbdd03-a58e-4fff-8365-f2335be7cd3b.jpg/r0_56_3600_2088_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Gerard said he won't miss receiving phone calls in the middle of the night, something he said most people would be oblivious too with after hours incidents and house fires being common.
"Two or three calls a night, or you might get a house fire that lasts four or five hours in the middle of the night and you get home, have a shower, and go to work," he said, starting at his mechanic around 7.30am.
As he finished his final day in yellow on Monday, July 1, he hoped fellow residents would take a feather out of his cap and consider training with Fire and Rescue NSW.
"It's been a privilege working with all these guys over the years," he said.