STATEWIDE Aviation proprietor Campbell Briggs has praised his staff, the Moree community and emergency service personnel after his company’s east hangar was all but gutted by fire on Saturday.

Fire fighters and emergency service crews battled strong winds and shocking weather to contain the blaze at Moree Regional Airport.

Miraculously, aircraft worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, as well as logbooks and flight documents stored in the facility, were saved.

“I want to thank my staff, particularly,” Mr Briggs said.

“Some of my guys did some amazing stuff, and the firies were unbelievable. They went straight in, and it was so hot in there – they did an amazing job.

“The council guys – Kingsley Counsell and John Dyer – were incredible. They patrolled the premises all night and we had to get the firies back at midnight, and again at around 5am Sunday,” he said.

“The support from operators that own aeroplanes and just people in general has been unbelievable – Moree is an amazing community.

“I’ve received more than 120 text messages and endless phone calls of support.

“People from across the district are calling and offering their workshops and hangars for us to use.

“Aircair Aviation and Waringa Aviation have offered workshops and big aircraft hangars so we can start again.

“We can’t get everyone’s planes in one hangar – we use two hangars here, east and west – and we’ve been offered a hangar out of town to use if we need it,” Mr Briggs said.

NSW Police and Highway Patrol officers cordoned off entry to the airport, and directed traffic accessing Blueberry Road and a nearby service station.

A Fire and Rescue NSW spokesperson said three FRNSW appliance vehicles were called to the fire, which was extinguished by multiple agencies by 6pm. There were two minor flare-ups during the night, which were quickly contained.

“There was also a specialist hazmat crew and New England north-west duty commander on-site,” the spokesperson said.

“Police, paramedics and Rural Fire Service provided invaluable support during firefighting operations.

“Moree Plains Shire Council shut down Airport Drive due to the size and nature of the fire, which was finally extinguished at about 6pm.”

Airport Drive was closed to the public while the fire was monitored. Police are continuing investigations. The cause of the fire is unknown at this stage.

Statewide Aviation was established by Mr Briggs in early 2008, and maintains a large fleet of turbine agricultural aircraft in two hangars in Moree.

“We’ve lived in Moree for 26 years. It’s an incredible community,” Mr Briggs said.

He said staff and volunteers formed a human chain to retrieve aircraft logbooks from the building’s front office.

“That stuff must be saved and everyone got it out in about three minutes,” Mr Briggs said.

“We lost all of the offices, but I think the main building is OK at this stage.

“There were four machines the guys saved, and some of the guys were half on fire while they were getting them out – it was amazing stuff from some pretty amazing people.

“No-one was hurt. One guy went to hospital to get checked for smoke inhalation and a burn to the shin.

“It was a miracle, really,” Mr Briggs said.

Statewide Aviation is highly-regarded in the aviation industry and employs more than 35 people all year-round.

At the Aerial Application Association of Australia annual conference at the Gold Coast last year, Mr Briggs was awarded the Ray Mackay Award for recognition of long-term commitment to professionalism and advancing the interests of aerial application in Australia.

He remains upbeat and resilient as the clean-up begins.

“We are a tough lot and the lengths our guys went to, to get equipment out was nothing short of heroic,” Mr Briggs said.

“It’s an unfortunate situation but at the same time we’ll be able to rebuild, bigger and better. Some new opportunities will arise from this.

“The staff are all positive – we’ve got a great team – and I think a lot of good will come out of a bad situation,” said.

Words and Images: Bill Poulos