TWO brothers who are both retired firefighters are set to travel to Australia to offer their support after the devastating fires that have hit the country.

Tom and Paul Warnock have a joint service of 77 years to the fire service.

The pair are set to make the journey to New South Wales to assist with recovery missions in the area.

Tom, who lives in Heworth, said: “We’re both very excited to go out there. We want to help those that are in desperate need.

“The decision was a no-brainer for us. It’s what we have always done as firefighters, help people.”

Tom, 58, had 35 years of experience before retiring four years ago, while Paul, 64, retired last year after 42 years.

They both began their careers at Acomb Fire Station, in York, before moving around stations in Yorkshire.

Tom then went on to work at Easingwold Fire Station and Training Centre, while Paul, who now lives in Acomb, was based in York.

Tom and Paul will be travelling to the area of Adelong. They will then be sent to camps all around the area which have been set up to aid those who have been hit by the fires.

The camps have been set up by BlazeAid, a charity which helps to rebuild communities after natural disasters.

The brothers found out about the volunteering through a fire service group on Facebook.

The group ‘T2T’, which stands for ‘Tunnels to Towers’, includes other people who have served in the fire service.

They then saw an advert for volunteers to travel out to Australia to help out, and they jumped at the chance.

Tom and Paul have funded the trip themselves.

Tom said: “The trip is self-funded. There has been no outlay from anyone else, we have funded all of the trip ourselves.”

They were informed that they would need to take their own fire kit over to Australia with them.

As they are both retired firefighters, they got in contact with North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service which has allowed them to borrow the appropriate kit to take.

Tom went on to say: “We will both be taking around 50 kilograms of kit on the trip in big hold all bags with us.”

They are now set to fly out to Australia on Friday (February 28), where they will be based for five weeks.

They were due to travel last month, however the trip was postponed for logistical reasons.

The bush fires in Australia burnt more than 27 million acres of land and destroyed some 5,900 buildings, around 2,800 of which were people’s homes.

Twenty-six people were killed by the fires and it has been estimated that a staggering one billion animals have died.

Further information on the BlazeAid charity can be found at: https://blazeaid.com.au/