Australian Firefighters Posed With Animals For A Charity Calendar And It’s Too Hot To Handle
Australian firefighters have posed for their popular annual charity calendar’s 30th edition, and the photos are too hot to handle.
Australian firefighters have posed for their popular annual charity calendar’s 30th edition, and the photos are too hot to handle.
Since the start of the project 30 years ago in 1993, the calendar project has raised more than 3.2 million dollars and helped support a range of Australian and international charities from animal conservation to medical research.
Every year, new versions are released, but a total of six editions were produced this year for the 30th anniversary, with an all-new denim edition.
Four of the editions feature firefighters posing with a range of animals such as horses, dogs, cats and a variety of wildlife animals from local refuges that the organization supports.
The cats calendar features cats from the Best Friends Felines, a rescue facility for cats in Brisbane and coastal areas.
The dogs calendar features rescue dogs from the Safe Haven Animal Rescue and All Breeds Canine rescue.
Meanwhile, the horse calendar show horses from the Healing Hooves charity, a program using horses as a form of therapy for people with special needs.
Selecting the firefighters featured in the calendar is a rigorous process, the director of the project, David Rogers told Almost.
Firefighters all over Australia sending in photos, but only 20 are selected.
“To be considered for the photoshoot the firefighters have to be fit, photogenic and most importantly understand the importance of the charities we support,” Rogers said.
This year, some of the firefighters featured include Dennis Fay, an Indigenous Torres Strait islander, who is working to help preserve marine life on his home island of Badu; Ben Wallace, who was deployed with the Australian army in Iraq and Afghanistan, where he helped build schools for girls and protect them from the Taliban; and Ricky Smith, who worked as a Surf Lifesaver for 23 years.
Rogers said the project has allowed firefighters to become great friends and given them a reason to stay in shape, while also supporting a cause. “They love it,” Rogers said.
And their dedication has not gone unnoticed for sure, with the calendar receiving a great response and the firefighters appearing on many US TV shows.
Rogers said the huge response to the calendar was unexpected.
“It is a huge surprise to us that the world has gone crazy for the calendar and the firefighters,” he said, adding that they hope to bring happiness to fans who purchase a calendar.
