Hardwired to help

Australia has the largest unpaid fire service in the world. Why the 150,000 volunteer firefighters across the country risk so much for so little in return is hard to explain. But we will attempt to, nonetheless.

Humans are hardwired to help. It’s in our blood, and, whether we like it or not, roughly one-third of us are born Warriors. If there is a threat, our instinct is fight, not flight. We literally can’t help being the first to help. It’s a reflex. We all know people like this; indeed, you may be one yourself. You may remember them from the schoolyard or the pub. They are the ones who are first to put themselves in the way of danger to protect others. They simply can’t and won’t stand back and see their communities go unprotected.

In Richard Dawkins’ book, The Selfish Gene, he argues that we are all programmed to help others because it contributes to the survival of our genes. In biological terms, this is true: the firefighter who faces danger to protect others in their group may do so without thinking, but they are also displaying a trait which is proven to increase the chance of reproduction. Helping people releases oxytocin, too, the chemical in our brains that makes us feel good and makes us more likely to want to do something again. The same chemical is released when we have sex or eat food – both biological necessities for the survival of our species.

Sociologist and social futurist Ebony Gaylor explains in this chapter why Warriors do what they do, and what they get in return. The rewards may not come in dollars and cents, but rather in a sense of purpose, camaraderie and the chemical explosions that go on in their heads – the adrenaline that pushes them on, the oxytocin and dopamine that keeps them going back for more – and why evolution and genetics are partly responsible for the way they behave.

Simply put, fireys do what they do because it is in their DNA. They are hardwired to run towards danger, and they were born that way.

Homeowner Geoff Gardener is overwhelmed by heat and smoke as the fire approaches his home on Silverdale Road in Orangeville. 6 December 2019

In early December 2019, Geoff Gardiner was one of many Orangeville, NSW, residents who watched, overwhelmed by thick smoke and extraordinary heat, as the Green Wattle Creek fire approached his home. Firefighters battled flames as embers sparked, igniting small spot fires throughout the area.

A little over an hour from Sydney, NSW, Orangeville was one of many surrounding rural towns affected by the fires. Strong winds and dry weather lingered for weeks, causing severe blazes to swamp the
area again and again. While not directly threatened by the surrounding fires, Sydney was enveloped by choking smoke and hot winds, reminding residents of the nearby crisis.

While the Gardiner’s property, which they’ve lived at for sixty-five years, was ultimately saved by the NSW Rural Fire Service and Fire and Rescue NSW, many residents in towns like Orangeville were not so lucky. For the countless Australians who lost their homes – many of whom did not have insurance, or enough insurance to cover a rebuild – a new reality unfolded: living in donated caravans and trailers on the ground where their property once stood.