Straight from the fireground, how one photographer’s images are changing the way we look at disasters

Running over the scorched, blackened ground with camera in hand, Wallcliffe Volunteer Fire and Emergency Service member Sean Blocksidge has spent more than 20 years capturing the chaos, community and courage of firefighting life. First joining the Margaret River brigade to be closer to the community, Blocksidge said he never thought his photography would create such an impact on his community and beyond. Getting behind the lens in the early days of social media, the budding storyteller learned quickly how impactful imagery and storytelling could be to the community, able to reach people that traditional warnings sometimes would not. “I always had a camera in my pocket and would take photos which I would use to help share information — and from there it just grew and grew and grew,” Blocksidge said. “Over time, the guys that you’re out with would start to trust me more, and yeah, we ended up with some pretty decent photos out of it.” Blocksidge said he always had a camera in his pocket, and many of his photos came from being at the “right place at the wrong time”. His photo of a burning building from 2011 was captured on the move, camera in hand running to a friend’s house through burning bush. “I was just going ‘click, click, click click’, and the side of the frame is just a blurry mess, but that photo just turned out amazing — by pure luck,” he said. Blocksidge said his photos weren’t aiming to glorify the intense scenes of firefighting, but wanted to show the harsh reality of the dangers of living in such a bushfire prone area. “We’re all surrounded by fire, and I think sometimes there’s an enormous amount of complacency,” he said. “People need to be prepared and just understand the risk of where they live and if the imagery helps do that, then I’m happy to share it.” Blocksidge said he was happy to see his photos shine a light on some of the volunteers. “A big thing for me was capturing the personalities —just realising that people connect with the humanness of some of those pictures,” he said. “We realised that showcasing the camaraderie and the diversity in the brigade as well — like the female participation rates — we wanted to showcase that through the imagery. “It’s become a really powerful community messaging, to the point now where we’re over subscribed. We have to limit our membership at the Wallcliffe brigade, and I think the photography and the storytelling has been part of that success.” Department of Fire and Emergency Services’ Lower South West Supt Phil Brandrett said Blocksidge’s photography has been invaluable in raising the profile of not only his local brigade, but community firefighters in general. “It’s only a positive to raise and elevate the profile of what these volunteers do,” he said. Speaking with the Times, Supt Brandrett said WA was well and truly into this year’s fire season, with several major incidents flaring up across the South West in recent weeks, and the the community could expect much more of the same over the next months. He urged everyone to have a plan in place. “The fire season is upon us like every other year, and we continue to work with local communities, volunteer responders, career services and all of our stakeholder agencies to get prepared,” he said. “Since the start of December, hot and dry conditions in the South West have sparked well over 100 bushfires.” Supt Brandrett said the Emergency WA app was an invaluable resource for keeping the community aware of any dangers. “If you don’t have a plan, I suggest you do have a plan — maybe the plan needs to state that you go to an area of less risk if you’re in a high-risk area,” he said. “Be safe, leave early.”