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News reader turned firefighter dies at just 46

<p>BBC presenter turned firefighter Beccy Barr has passed away at the age of 46 after a battle with cancer. </p> <p>Barr's family confirmed the sad news on X (formerly Twitter), writing, “Beccy passed away peacefully this morning”.</p> <p>“She spent her last few days at @SJHospice who provided the most dignified and compassionate care to Beccy and her whole family. Donations to the hospice can be made in Beccy’s memory.”</p> <p>After 20 years at the British public broadcaster, Barr shocked her loyal viewers announcing she would be leaving her media career behind to follow in her father's footsteps by becoming a firefighter. </p> <p>In February 2022, she updated her fans on social media, explaining she had received distinction marks in all her training assessments for the Lancashire Fire and Rescue team. </p> <p>Then in December 2023, Barr revealed that she was diagnosed with “incurable cancer”, writing to her followers at the time, “Two lessons I’ve learned from this distinctly sub-optimal experience: 1) Life is wild. 2) People have an utterly astounding and boundless capacity for love, care and friendship.”</p> <p>BBC presenter Roger Johnson was one of many who paid tribute to his former colleague, saying, “Beccy was courageous in so many ways.”</p> <p>“In the way she faced her illness, of course, but she also had the courage to walk away from a successful TV career to retrain as a firefighter."</p> <p>“She wanted to make a difference and she excelled at that, too.”</p> <p><em>Image credits: BBC / X (Twitter) </em></p>

Caring

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Firefighter praised for sweet interaction with three-year-old

<p>A cooking mishap for one Aussie family ended with a heartwarming moment shared between a firefighter and a young girl meeting her hero for the first time. </p> <p>Firefighters were called to a home at Blue Haven on the NSW Central Coast on Saturday, after a fire broke out on a kitchen stove top and spread to the range hood. </p> <p>They were quick to put out the blaze and just as they were about to leave, three-year-old Mia was too excited to meet her heroes that she couldn't let them leave just yet. </p> <p>"Once we got there and ascertained that there was no fire spread to the roof and other areas... their daughter decided to take me away into the room to see the new books she got," Doyalson Fire and Rescue Station Manager Dirk Ziekenheiner told Yahoo News.  </p> <p>"Which I then obviously took the opportunity to read," he added.</p> <p>A picture of the sweet moment was shared on social media, with the firefighter sat on one of Mia's pink chairs and the three-year-old keenly listening to him read the story. </p> <p>Mia also impressed the firefighter with her own safety knowledge, as she shared her understanding of calling Triple-Zero in an emergency, how to escape a fire and the importance staying outside after evacuating. </p> <p>"Obviously her parents did really well and schools pass on the message, and you know that safety messages are key to surviving a house fire, especially these days," Ziekenheiner said.</p> <p>"If you don't know what to do, and you never plan for it, then you're probably behind the eight ball... this girl was amazing, she knew all those key messages which is really important."</p> <p>Aussies praised the firefighter in the comments of the post, with many of them commenting on how "cute" the moment was. </p> <p>Mia's father, James, also added that his daughter was very excited to meet her heroes despite the circumstances. </p> <p>"Mia watches a lot of children's TV shows which feature firefighters so she already knows they're heroes and they rescue people," James said.</p> <p>"Having now seen first-hand the great work they do, we'll continue to spread the word about fire safety and we encourage others to do the same.</p> <p>"Our family never thought we'd come this close to losing our home to fire, so the key is to not be complacent about the risks."</p> <p><em>Image: Fire and Rescue NSW / Facebook</em></p> <p> </p>

Caring

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Disabled woman dies after firefighters go to wrong address

<p>A disabled woman has tragically died after being trapped in a burning home while firefighters went to the wrong address in an attempt to save her. </p> <p>Vivianne Rodger, who relies on using a wheelchair, called emergency services after her home in Victoria sparked a fire. </p> <p>She was then left for over two hours as firefighters, who were relying on a paper map, went to the wrong house trying to find her. </p> <p>When they eventually reached Ms Rodger, she was dead. </p> <p>According to a Victorian coroner, the blaze was "clearly avoidable" and she may have survived if they had arrived sooner, with their delayed response being directly linked to her death. </p> <p>The 54-year-old lived alone and was unable to move around independently after suffering a stroke and acquired brain injury, meaning she relied on a wheelchair and needed assistance to get in and out of bed.</p> <p>In the early hours of the morning on January 17th 2019, a service coordinator received a distressed call from the woman who said "my blanket is on fire", but the call was disconnected before more information was taken.</p> <p>Firefighters initially went to the wrong house on Ms Rodger's street, after becoming confused with the street numbers and using Melways, a printed street directory of Melbourne, to find the property.</p> <p>The process at the time was to send the fire station an A4 printout of the fire call with the address and a Melways reference.</p> <p>Fire crews didn't arrive at Ms Rodger's home until 5am, when smoke was billowing out of her home, and the woman was found dead in her bedroom. </p> <p>Coroner Paul Lawrie said the failure to find the correct address was "a missed opportunity to try to rescue Ms Rodger" and she would have had an "improved" chance of surviving if they found her sooner.</p> <p>He found the delays were "significant", "clearly avoidable" and questioned the fire brigade's reliance on Melways maps over a GPS map application.</p> <p>"It is also concerning that reliance on a Melway map may have contributed to the failure to identify the correct property," he wrote.</p> <p>The coroner urged for firetrucks to be equipped with modern navigation technology, and to implement policies, procedures and training to ensure firefighters can better identify the location of a call to prevent further deaths. </p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p>

Caring

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Firefighter adopts baby girl found in drop-off baby box

<p dir="ltr">When a US firefighter answered an alarm from within his own station, he could never have predicted the outcome. </p> <p dir="ltr">The man - who has chosen to remain anonymous - was working an overnight shift at his Florida station, Ocala Fire Rescue Station 1, when he was woken around 2am on January 2 by the noise.</p> <p dir="ltr">He recognised it straightaway as the alarm designed to notify first responders that a baby had been placed in their station’s Safe Haven Baby Box - a drop-off point specifically designed to allow someone to both safely and anonymously surrender a child.</p> <p dir="ltr">But as he confessed to <em>Today</em>, he “thought it was a false alarm” until he opened the box and discovered who was inside: a healthy baby girl swaddled in a pink blanket.</p> <p dir="ltr">“She had a little bottle with her and she was just chilling,” he said. “I picked her up and held her. We locked eyes, and that was it. I’ve loved her ever since that moment.”</p> <p dir="ltr">And he meant every word of it, with he and his wife going on to welcome her into their family, and to adopt her as their own. </p> <p dir="ltr">According to the firefighter, who is also a trained paramedic, he and his wife had been having trouble conceiving for more than a decade, and immediately he had started connecting the pieces. </p> <p dir="ltr">However, he hadn’t called his wife the second he found their future-daughter, hoping to avoid waking her, but that he’d known “she’d be on board” with his plan to take the baby to the hospital and ask about the likelihood of adopting her.</p> <p dir="ltr">He’d then gone through with that plan, writing a note to leave with the baby that “explained that my wife and I had been trying for 10 years to have a baby. I told them we’d completed all of our classes in the state of Florida and were registered to adopt.</p> <p dir="ltr">"All we needed was a child."</p> <p dir="ltr">It was then that he got in touch with his wife, filling her in on what had transpired that evening, and requesting that she not get too excited, as he himself was afraid the note might have been separated from the baby, and that “she’d be gone.”</p> <p dir="ltr">The days to follow were stressful for the hopeful couple, but just two days later on January 4, their dreams came true, and baby Zoey went home with her forever family. </p> <p dir="ltr">Three months later, they adopted her. </p> <p dir="ltr">The firefighter revealed that it was difficult not to become emotional when sharing their stories, and that he believed a higher power had been “helping us out” with the way she’d come into their lives. </p> <p dir="ltr">And as for why they’d chosen to share their story, he said it was in the hope that it would give young Zoey’s biological mother “some closure”, as they just wanted her to know that Zoey was “taken care of and that she’s loved beyond words.”</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Images: CBS News</em></p>

Family & Pets

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Kiwi firefighters receive rare Aussie honour for heroic efforts

<p dir="ltr">A New Zealand firefighter has been awarded one of Australia’s special service awards for his efforts in fighting bushfires during the summer of 2019 and 2020.</p> <p dir="ltr">Phil Muldoon, Lake Ōkāreka’s chief rural fire officer, was one of 53 firefighters awarded the Australia National Emergency Medal during a recent awards ceremony.</p> <p dir="ltr">Muldoon, who worked 16-hour days fighting fires, said the honour was very humbling.</p> <p dir="ltr">“It’s not what we do it for but it is nice to be recognised, especially from the Australian Government,” Muldoon told <em><a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/kahu/australia-bush-fires-nz-firefighter-given-rare-and-special-honour/4K7KKB2WRVEHXJKJ7IC5WBFY4I/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NZ Herald</a></em>.</p> <p dir="ltr">He was among a 208-strong contingent of New Zealanders sent to help their Aussie neighbours, including personnel from Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ), the Department of Conservation, forestry company partners, and the New Zealand Defence Force.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">We were proud to see 27 Department of Conservation firefighters awarded the Australia National Emergency Medal last week for their efforts fighting the devastating Australian wildfires during the 2019/2020 black summer. 🎖️<a href="https://t.co/Wh7xVdZQ8g">https://t.co/Wh7xVdZQ8g</a> <a href="https://t.co/vl8iEC9acs">pic.twitter.com/vl8iEC9acs</a></p> <p>— Department of Conservation (@docgovtnz) <a href="https://twitter.com/docgovtnz/status/1591974150008377344?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 14, 2022</a></p></blockquote> <p dir="ltr">The majority of those who took part received the award during recent official ceremonies hosted in New Zealand by Australian High Commissioner HE Harinder Sidhu.</p> <p dir="ltr">Muldoon received his award along with 38 firefighters from FENZ, two members of the NZ Army, eight NZ Air Force members, two from the Department of Conservation, and three from forestry company partners.</p> <p dir="ltr">Having been a firefighter for 25 years, Muldoon said fighting the bushfires was his 16th deployment and that firefighters were chosen to deploy based on their skillset.</p> <p dir="ltr">“We went to help their firefighters in Australia who had a tough season. We’re fresh feet on the ground and give them a break,” Muldoon said, adding that the contingent brought New Zealand’s “can-do” attitude with them.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">A great honour to present the Australian National Emergency Medal at Ohakea <a href="https://twitter.com/NZAirForce?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NZAirForce</a> base, and to personally thank members of the <a href="https://twitter.com/NZDefenceForce?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NZDefenceForce</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/FireEmergencyNZ?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@FireEmergencyNZ</a> for their service to Australia in support of the 2019-20 Australian Bushfires response. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NZAirForce?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NZAirForce</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Force4NZ?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Force4NZ</a> <a href="https://t.co/GtTUay8VY6">pic.twitter.com/GtTUay8VY6</a></p> <p>— Harinder Sidhu (@AusHCNZ) <a href="https://twitter.com/AusHCNZ/status/1580682019985854464?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 13, 2022</a></p></blockquote> <p dir="ltr">Earlier this month, nine firefighters from Northland received the award, including wildfire specialist Rory Renwick.</p> <p dir="ltr">After spending 14 days fighting blazes in remote Australian bush, Renwick said the gratitude expressed through the medal was just “icing on the cake”.</p> <p dir="ltr">"People stopped you on the street to shake your hand and say thank you. It's humbling and pretty amazing," he told <em><a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/northern-advocate/news/northland-firefighters-awarded-medal-for-efforts-during-australian-bushfires/FIMYEOSD5QQGEYTVSFHIRP34WI/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NZ Herald</a></em>.</p> <p dir="ltr">Renwick explained that New Zealand crews were often working in remote areas and tackling large fires.</p> <p dir="ltr">"We were trying to put out the edge of the fire to stop it spreading," he said.</p> <p dir="ltr">"We did anything from patrolling edges [and] dealing with small hotspots to working with aircraft and heavy machinery to slow the fire down and stop it."</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">I was presented with a national emergency <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/medal?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#medal</a> Monday night for the 19/20 bushfires here in Australia. <a href="https://t.co/L8il9Eob7P">pic.twitter.com/L8il9Eob7P</a></p> <p>— Craig Chiffers (@cchiffers) <a href="https://twitter.com/cchiffers/status/1569818214888263681?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 13, 2022</a></p></blockquote> <p dir="ltr">The award, which was approved by Queen Elizabeth II in 2011, is given to those who performed significant or sustained service during “nationally-significant emergencies”, according to the Governor-General’s <a href="https://www.gg.gov.au/australian-honours-and-awardsnational-emergency-medal/bushfires-2019-20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">website</a>.</p> <p dir="ltr">Muldoon, Renwick, and the many others recognised for their efforts during the bushfires will receive a medal with a clasp that reads, “BUSHFIRES 19-20”.</p> <p dir="ltr">Russell Wood, the national commander of FENZ, said the award had never been given to any member of the organisation before.</p> <p dir="ltr">“This is a rare and special honour that the Australian Government has extended to us,” he said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“The bushfires in Australia in 2019/20 were catastrophic and we were glad we could be there to help them.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I am immensely proud of our people, who responded to the call so selflessly and put their time and energy into fighting one of the biggest wildfire disasters of our time.</p> <p dir="ltr">“It was a dangerous environment for everyone to be in, and they showed true Kiwi spirit in their sustained efforts under challenging conditions.</p> <p dir="ltr">“As a nation, we are very proud of our fine firefighters.”</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Fire and Emergency NZ (Facebook)</em></p>

Domestic Travel

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NYC firefighter killed in tragic holiday accident

<p dir="ltr">A US family experienced a tragic start to their family holiday, with shocking footage emerging of the moment a tree fell on their SUV, killing father-of-two Casey Skudin.</p> <p dir="ltr">Last month, Mr Skudin, from Long Beach, New York, was driving with his wife Angela and their two kids through the state of North Carolina at the start of the trip when a tree toppled over and crushed their car.</p> <p dir="ltr">The family were reportedly planning to celebrate Mr Skudin’s 46th birthday and Father’s Day that weekend at the Biltmore Estate, a popular tourist spot in Asheville.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-8a99234f-7fff-ff00-96ca-0484dcdb36d3">Phone footage taken from inside the car, shared by the <em>New York Post</em>, showed the car approaching a bend on a tree-lined road when, without warning, a huge tree branch appeared to snap off as the car passed beneath, shattering the windscreen.</span></p> <p><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/07/firefighter-death-damage.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>The family’s car was crushed after a tree branch fell on it. </em></p> <p dir="ltr">The phone appeared to drop near the glove box, with Ms Skudin’s blonde hair visible in the frame.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Is everybody ok?” she asked, before looking at her husband and realising the extent of his injuries.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Oh my God! Casey!” she screamed, before the video was cut off.</p> <p dir="ltr">Their youngest son, 10-year-old Channing, was reportedly knocked unconscious and suffered broken bones, while their eldest, Benjamin, 19, was also knocked out.</p> <p dir="ltr">Both Benjamin and Ms Skudin walked away with minor injuries.</p> <p dir="ltr">Mr Skudin, a highly-decorated veteran firefighter, reportedly broke his neck. </p> <p dir="ltr">In a post shared to Facebook, Ms Skudin revealed that her husband had a pulse “for the entire hour it took to remove the 4,000lb tree that fell directly on him”.</p> <p dir="ltr">“It was crazy. I was the only one that wasn’t knocked out," Ms Skudin told the <em>New York Post</em>. </p> <p dir="ltr">"Just watching your husband die and you can’t do anything is really insane."</p> <p dir="ltr">In a heartbreaking Facebook post, Ms Skudin said her husband’s death had left a “gaping hole” in her life.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I am left shattered while I navigate this new existence, one I never wanted to know. I have nothing left to do with my days but fight for you, for our family, for the hero they took," she wrote.</p> <p dir="ltr">Sharing a photo of her husband’s casket, Ms Skudin wrote: "Honoring you [sic] has been my absolute pleasure &amp; I will continue to do so until our souls meet again."</p> <p dir="ltr"><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/07/firefighter-death1.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Angela Skudin shared images of her husband's casket after he was killed in a freak accident while driving.</em></p> <p dir="ltr">The father-of-two is being remembered as an “adoring husband”, a “stellar father”, and a “courageous firefighter”.</p> <p dir="ltr">In a <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/casey-skudin" target="_blank" rel="noopener">GoFundMe page</a> set up for the family, his death is described as a “catastrophic loss” for his family, friends, and members of the Long Beach community.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Angela, Ben, and CJ have an overwhelming amount of healing ahead of them. We hope to support them by taking away any stress along the way," it reads.</p> <p dir="ltr">Ms Skudin is now suing Biltmore Estate for $AU 228 million for “grossly negligent conduct” and seeking compensation for medical costs, funeral expenses, lost wages and punitive damages, according to reports.</p> <p dir="ltr">Her lawsuit claims the fallen tree was rotten and had been held up with cables.</p> <p dir="ltr">It argues that Biltmore “knew it would cause great harm when it fell” and that the estate should have taken “appropriate measure of cutting the tree down and eliminating the potentially fatal risk”.</p> <p dir="ltr">Following the tragedy, Biltmore issued a statement admitting they were “deeply saddened by this news”.</p> <p dir="ltr">"Our heartfelt thoughts are with the family and their loved ones, and we are offering assistance at this time," they reportedly wrote.</p> <p dir="ltr">They have denied any wrongdoing in the statement.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-7347f48c-7fff-200e-cdc4-315bb153d1ad"></span></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Images: Angela Skudin (Facebook)</em></p>

Travel Trouble

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The 2022 Australian Firefighters Calendar is back and better than ever

<p dir="ltr">If you’re running out of Christmas gift ideas, never fear: the Australian Firefighters Calendar is here. And they don’t just sell calendars to raise money for charities - with over $3.2 million raised since the first calendar was printed in 1993 - they also sell<span> </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.australianfirefighterscalendar.com/merchandise/pillowcase-dog-3" target="_blank">pillowcases</a><span> </span>and<span> </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.australianfirefighterscalendar.com/merchandise/daily-planner-2" target="_blank">planners</a>!</p> <p dir="ltr">Firefighters from the Urban, Rural, Aviation, Armed Forces and Corporate firefighting services have come together for yet another glorious series of calendars. After three weeks of photoshoots, the final products include a calendar with the firefighters on their own, as well as a ‘mixed animal’ calendar, specific animal calendars (cats, dogs, and horses), a summer calendar with numerous beach shots, and an animals only calendar. The summer edition, new for 2022, features the firies in swimming gear instead of their usual fire protection ‘fits.</p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/reel/CWC6OJKjND1/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/CWC6OJKjND1/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Aus Firefighter Calendar (@australianfirefighterscalendar)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p dir="ltr">In addition to the calendars, a daily planner is available for $10, and six different pillowcases featuring firefighters with and without animal companions are also for sale.</p> <p dir="ltr">As always, all proceeds will go to charity. Last year, charities supported included the Kids with Cancer Foundation, Rural Aid Australia, Pets of the Homeless, Currumbin Wildlife Hospital, Precious Paws Animal Rescue, RACQ, and Healing Hooves.</p> <p dir="ltr">In addition, the calendar is teaming up with US-based Greater Good Charities to support their Rescue Rebuild program. The Rescue Rebuild program is dedicated to renovating animal shelters, domestic violence shelters, and homeless shelters.</p> <p dir="ltr">Director of Partnerships at Greater Good Charities Lesley McCave said, "The Greater Good Charities are so excited to be partnering with the Australian Firefighters Calendar, we have been a huge supporter of their work through our social media channels for years now. This will be the start of a long-lasting partnership on charity projects across the US.”</p> <p dir="ltr">According to the Australian Firefighters Calendar team, the decision to begin supporting US charities was made, in part, as a thank you for the generosity shown by American animal lovers during Australia’s devastating bushfire season in 2019-20. Proceeds from calendar sales in the US helped support the Byron Bay Wildlife Hospital, which cared for numerous animals, particularly koalas, who were affected by the fires.<br />Australians and Kiwis can pick up a calendar<span> </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.australianfirefighterscalendar.com/" target="_blank">here</a><span> </span>for $22, or buy all of them as a bundle for $175.</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Australian Firefighters Calendar</em></p>

Beauty & Style

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Final message from heroic firefighters lost to tragedy

<div class="post_body_wrapper"> <div class="post_body"> <div class="body_text "> <p>One of the final messages from the three American firefighters who died on a water-bombing aircraft while fighting the Australian bushfires has been revealed.</p> <p>An interim report released by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau revealed the final moments before the aircraft crashed, which killed all on board instantly.</p> <p>First Officer Paul Hudson, flight engineer Rick DeMorgan Jr and Captain Ian McBeth died on January 23rd after completing a waterbombing mission on an out-of-control bushfire near the Snowy Mountains.</p> <p>“Don’t send anybody and we’re not going back,” their final message said.</p> <p>After the crew completed the retardant drop, they sent a text message to a spotter pilot saying that conditions were "horrible down there".</p> <p>“They also reported to the Cooma Fire Control Command that the conditions were unsuitable for firebombing operations,” the report read, according to APN.</p> <p>The report revealed there was “no appreciable change in the centre of gravity following a retardant drop” and that the voice recorder in the plane was not working.</p> <p>There was no distress call before the crash and as the plane began to descend, it hit the ground at around 280km/h and created another bushfire.</p> <p>The trio worked for the US charter company Coulson Aviation which had been contracted by the NSW Rural Fire Service to fight the bushfires.</p> <p>NSW RFS Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said the men were dedicated to the "art" of aerial firefighting.</p> <p>"It's a body blow for everyone in the firefighting fraternity, in the community of NSW and further afield," he told reporters in Sydney at the time.</p> <p>"It's a confronting and sobering reminder of the enormity of the risk and challenge associated with this fire season."</p> <p><em>Photo credits: <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.facebook.com/coulsonaviation" target="_blank">Coulson Aviation</a></em></p> </div> </div> </div>

Legal

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Award-winning firefighter jailed over child porn

<p>A Country Fire Authority volunteer firefighter awarded medals for battling Victoria’s Black Saturday bushfires has been sentenced to six months’ jail over child pornography.</p> <p>Andrew Harris, 47, admitted to possessing child pornography and child abuse material after police raided his Pakenham home in 2019.</p> <p>Australian Federal Police was alerted after the former Metro Trains ticket inspector posted images and videos on Tumblr.</p> <p>Investigators found 69 images and 170 videos on an iPad at Harris’ property, and two involved acts of sadism or bestiality.</p> <p>The Victorian County Court heard that the device’s search history revealed terms such as “nude children”, “family nudity” and “how to adopt children from Thailand”. Harris also searched how to conceal online activity and how to send private messages.</p> <p>Harris was an “<a href="https://pakenham.starcommunity.com.au/news/2020-05-12/jail-for-child-porn/">avid viewer</a>” who “<a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/cfa-firefighter-jailed-child-porn-victoria/6a648c31-6d1a-4953-abe6-d16f73e3cf99">repeatedly and persistently</a>” sought child pornography and watched hours of video of children being abused, Judge Anne Hassan said on Tuesday.</p> <p>“You watched children being abused for your own sexual gratification,” she said.</p> <p>Harris volunteered with the CFA for 30 years and was awarded the Australian National Medal and National Emergency Medal for his work during Black Saturday fires in 2009. He resigned from his lieutenant role at the agency and was stood down from his Metro Trains job following his arrest.</p> <p>He pleaded guilty to one count of possessing child pornography and two counts of possessing child abuse material.</p> <p>Harris was sentenced to six months in jail and ordered to serve a two-year community corrections order.</p>

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“Exacerbated by global heating”: An interview with NSW firefighter Jim Casey

<p>The current bushfire crisis has so far destroyed over <a href="https://www.sydneycriminallawyers.com.au/blog/aussies-demand-climate-action-scotty-delivers-marketing-and-anthony-rolls-over/">10 million hectares</a>. Unprecedented in its scope, it’s also taken the lives of <a href="https://www.sydneycriminallawyers.com.au/blog/too-little-too-late-morrison-will-mourn-bushfire-victims/">32 people</a> – including 12 firefighters – while <a href="https://www.cnet.com/how-to/australia-fires-have-killed-more-than-a-billion-animals-so-far-how-you-can-help/">over a billion animals</a> have perished in the flames. And the true environmental, economic and health costs remain unknown.</p> <p>So, it comes as a bit of a shock for many to learn that 23 former fire and emergency leaders had been trying to warn the federal government about the crisis that was likely coming and the need for greater investment in protective measures as far back as <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-11-14/former-fire-chief-calls-out-pm-over-refusal-of-meeting/11705330">April last year</a>.</p> <p>In order to combat any finger pointing that might come their way, politicians of the right have been <a href="https://www.sydneycriminallawyers.com.au/blog/debunking-the-myth-that-the-greens-caused-the-bushfire-crisis-an-interview-with-mlc-david-shoebridge/">propagating the idea</a> that the Greens are to blame for the unprecedented bushfires, due to their supposed opposition to hazard reduction burns. Although, there’s no evidence to justify this.</p> <p>NSW deputy premier John Barilaro came out just <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/barilaro-accuses-government-agencies-of-ideological-opposition-to-hazard-reduction-20200122-p53tns.html">last week</a> accusing NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service of not performing necessary hazard reduction due to “ideological” reasons, even though his government in 2017 cut <a href="http://www.pennysharpe.com/labor_reveals_121m_cuts_no_plan_for_new_parks_the_national_party_trying_to_turn_national_parks_back_into_state_forests_for_commercial_logging">$121 million</a> of its funding, which resulted in reduced <a href="https://www.themandarin.com.au/120342-parks-and-wildlife-funding-cuts-in-the-spotlight-as-nsw-nationals-play-the-blame-game/">fire prevention staff</a>.</p> <p><strong>Governed by the culprits</strong></p> <p>This nation is “ground zero for both climate impacts and climate policy uncertainty”, states <a href="https://laureatebushfiresclimate.wordpress.com/">an open letter</a> published on Wednesday by Australian Research Council fellows. The 80 leading local academics state that government needs to learn from the catastrophe and take relevant action.</p> <p>These bushfires “arrived at the end of a year with the lowest average rainfall and the highest average temperatures ever recorded across Australia”, the academics outline. “Climate change has arrived, and without significant action greater impacts on Australia are inevitable.”</p> <p>However, it’s becoming increasingly apparent that the Liberal National government isn’t willing to take effective measures. Morrison has <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/jan/29/australia-is-ground-zero-in-climate-crisis-and-must-show-leadership-top-researchers-say">admitted</a> to climate playing a role in the increased intensity of the fires. Although, he’s only spoken of adaptation to it, rather than action to cut carbon emissions.</p> <p>A <a href="https://www.sydneycriminallawyers.com.au/blog/the-coal-industry-controls-the-coalition/">major reason</a> behind this unwillingness to act is that the federal government is in the pocket of the coal industry. Indeed, <a href="https://act.greenpeace.org.au/dirtypower">numerous links</a> between government and Big Coal would make it financially counterproductive for Coalition politicians to walk away from the industry.</p> <p>And this is further evidenced at the state level with the NSW Liberal National government’s <a href="https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/bills/Pages/bill-details.aspx?pk=3717">bill before parliament</a>, which seeks to remove the requirement that planning authorities now have to consider the impact of exported coal emissions when assessing new mining proposals.</p> <p><strong>Word on the ground</strong></p> <p>The <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ausfca/">Australian Firefighters Climate Alliance</a> is a group of firefighters who’ve joined together to advocate for stronger action on climate. And career firefighter Jim Casey has been speaking out on its behalf at <a href="https://www.sydneycriminallawyers.com.au/blog/the-liar-from-the-shire-thousands-march-demanding-action-from-morrison/">a number of Sydney rallies</a> over recent months.</p> <p><a href="https://www.sydneycriminallawyers.com.au/police-stations-we-attend/auburn-police-station/">Sydney Criminal Lawyers</a> spoke to Fire and Rescue NSW firefighter Jim Casey about the factors that created the most intense bushfires ever seen, how the government would have reacted in a similar manner regardless of who was PM, and the reasons behind those hazard reduction rumours.</p> <p><strong>Firstly, you</strong> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/nov/14/australias-firefighters-need-concrete-support-not-just-the-pms-thoughts-and-prayers"><strong>wrote in the Guardian</strong></a><strong> a few months back, that you’ve been fighting fires your entire professional life and you’d never before seen the types you were being confronted with.</strong></p> <p><strong>But, that was in mid-November, and there’s been much more to come. Jim, how would you sum up what’s happened since then?</strong></p> <p>I take no satisfaction in saying that when I said in November that these fires were unprecedented, I was correct then, but the worsening situation just shows you how much more extreme this season has become.</p> <p>That extremity is not by chance, it’s a changing world. And it’s led to a catastrophic fire season.</p> <p><strong>So, you’ve been out there on the frontline during the crisis. In your opinion, are we passed the worst of it?</strong></p> <p>I’m not prepared to say that we’re past the worst of it, because you just don’t know what’s going to happen.</p> <p>It is worth noting that a lot of the fuel load near major population centres has been significantly reduced just by fire. And we’ve had a limited return of rain.</p> <p>But, having said that, we’ve still got months of summer to go – anything could happen. So, I’m hoping the worst is over, but I wouldn’t make that commitment.</p> <p><strong>And what’s it been like out there for you fighting the fires? </strong></p> <p>It’s been fighting bushfires or carrying a larger load in the city. We’ve had less resources in the city, because people are at the frontline, so it’s busy all around.</p> <p>It’s either busy in Sydney, up in the Blue Mountains, or down on the South Coast. To be honest, it’s been full on. But, that’s the nature of the job.</p> <p><strong>You’re a spokesperson for the</strong> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ausfca/"><strong>Australian Firefighters’ Climate Alliance</strong></a><strong>. You accept the science linking the severity of the crisis to changing climate conditions.</strong></p> <p><strong>For those in the community coming to grips with the effects of changing climate on bushfires, how do you explain the implications?</strong></p> <p>For a fire to occur you need three things: temperature, oxygen and fuel. So, for a wildfire – a bushfire – you’ll see more intense fires, when you’ve got more fuel on the ground, where the atmosphere is windy and when the temperatures are high.</p> <p>For these fires, all three of those factors have been exacerbated by a change in climate. We’ve seen extreme weather behaviour in terms of windstorms, and so forth, which is associated with a warming world.</p> <p>We’ve got a fuel load on the ground that’s higher than anyone wanted. That’s partially because of the reduced window for hazard burns during winter, which is the result of a warming world.</p> <p>Then finally there’s the question of temperature. The 1 to 1.5 degree of warming is an issue. But, by far, the bigger concern is the extreme weather spots, which occur within that warming.</p> <p>So, the runs of very hot days in the high 30s or low 40s. That’s the kind of thing that turns the bushfire into a firestorm.</p> <p>All three of the factors behind what makes a fire work – all three – have been exacerbated by global heating.</p> <p><strong>You’ve been addressing the crowd at a number of recent rallies in Sydney, which have been calling out Scott Morrison on his lack of climate action.</strong></p> <p><strong>How would you describe the leader of this country’s form during the current crisis, which is now into its fifth month?</strong></p> <p>My favourite take on it is from the Betoota Advocate, which is the <a href="https://www.betootaadvocate.com/uncategorized/nation-begins-to-understand-why-scotty-got-the-arse-from-all-those-marketing-jobs/">Nation Begins To Understand Why Scotty Got the Arse From All Those Marketing Jobs</a>.</p> <p>But, seriously, it’s been a conspicuous fail. The prime minister has got a cloth ear. His attempts at empathy come across as either harassing people into shaking his hand or running away from them when they need something. It’s a disgrace. It’s been a fail.</p> <p>But, while Scott Morrison’s personal failings have been made manifest, the real issue is he represents a political party that’s beholden to the mining lobby. And none of the people who would be prime minister instead would be behaving any better.</p> <p>Morrison is someone easy to mock for the way that he’s been handling the situation from beginning to end. And he should be mocked. He deserves the contempt.</p> <p>But, no one should be under any allusions that the next in line for the top job in the Liberal Party would be any better than he would.</p> <p><strong>The right of politics has managed to run a smear campaign, laying the blame for the current crisis at the feet of the Greens, because of its supposed position on hazard reduction burns.</strong></p> <p><strong>You’re a member of the NSW Greens, so you must have been confronted by this argument. How have you been able to account for it being bandied about like its truth?</strong></p> <p>There are some people that it wouldn’t matter what you say they’re going to believe the madness.</p> <p>The thing I’ve found – which is quite compelling – is that I’m a proud member of the Greens NSW, and I conduct hazard reduction burns. It’s part of my job. And I don’t down tools when I am told to do it.</p> <p>It’s just ridiculous. The Greens are not opposed to hazard reduction burns. We are opposed to the idea of concreting the entire countryside and destroying everything. But, most Australians are.</p> <p>The Greens are a scapegoat for a tricky and nasty government that’s been called out. So, they’re trying to find someone to blame. They’ve had a crack at us. Most don’t believe it, particularly when you see the fire chiefs coming out saying that it’s not true.</p> <p>To put this all in context, the Greens have a minority on some councils. We have two lower house MPs in NSW. We’ve got one lower house MP in federal parliament. How we are running this agenda with those numbers is beyond me.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>The minister in charge of this state’s bushfire recovery, NSW deputy premier John Barilaro just took aim at NSW National Parks and Wildlife, blaming that organisation for the intensity of the fires because again it hasn’t been properly partaking in hazard reduction.</strong></p> <p><strong>What do you think about the leader of the NSW Nationals accusing National Parks of being at fault?</strong></p> <p>That bloke has got more front than Myers to have a crack at National Parks, when under this government, according to the Public Service Association, there’s been a 35 percent cut in firefighting positions inside the parks.</p> <p>Again, it’s just switch and bait. These people have been caught out not planning for the future. They’ve been caught out cutting funds from parts of the public sector that fight fires.</p> <p>They’ve been caught out running no line at all on climate change. And basically, subsidising the fossil fuel industry.</p> <p>They know that anyone with half a brain is putting all of this together and coming up with the conclusion that they’re vandals. And their concerns for their top end of town mates outweighs any concerns for the environment or the rest of us.</p> <p>So, in an environment like that, they’re looking for someone to blame. And I just urge your readers to take everything they say with a grain of salt, because these people have got blood on their hands, and they’re desperately trying to make sure that no one – no one – blames them.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>And lastly, Jim, as a career firefighter with a grounding in the science of climate, what do you think needs to happen from here, both in terms of immediately on the ground and also at a broader level looking at climate into the future?</strong></p> <p>There are two things that need to happen. The first is the immediate question of how we respond to these crises when they’re upon us. Obviously, they’re needs to be more money put into firefighting. You can’t get around that.</p> <p>At the end of the day, firefighting hasn’t changed for centuries. There’s someone on the end of a length of hose or a hand tool doing their best to put the fire out or build a fire break. That’s not going to change. We need more firefighters on the ground.</p> <p>But, then there are other things we need as well. There needs to be significant investment in aerial capacity and fleets.</p> <p>While these fires were at their worst, there were hundreds of professional firefighters, like me, who could not be used. I had days off, because there weren’t enough fire engines for us as staff. You could fix a lot of this with a $50 to $80 million expenditure.</p> <p>I actually expect that we will see some of that from government. This crisis has frightened everyone and throwing limited amounts of money at this is something they will do. Probably not enough. And we will need to push for more. But, they’ll have a start.</p> <p>The big issue is what they’re doing about the root cause of the problem. And that’s a far more thorny kind of question.</p> <p>This is what we are seeing at 1 degree of global heating. If things were fixed right now, we are still likely to get up to the 2 degree mark. And there’s no indication that that’s going to happen.</p> <p>So, really this is just a taste of the future. Things will get worse, unless action is taken immediately.</p> <p>That means that both the state, and especially the federal government, need to accept the science and get aggressive about trying to make sure that Australia stops burning coal for our own energy consumption, exporting fossil fuels for others, and start making our nation a leader in the world for renewable energy, both for our consumption and export.</p> <p><em>Written by Paul Gregoire. Republished with permission of </em><a href="https://www.sydneycriminallawyers.com.au/blog/exacerbated-by-global-heating-an-interview-with-nsw-firefighter-jim-casey/"><em>Sydney Criminal Lawyers.</em></a></p>

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How Aussies value volunteer firefighters

<p>Australia’s unprecedented bushfires have cemented its rural firefighters at the heart of the nation’s identity.</p> <p>It’s not just that these men and women put themselves in the line of fire. It’s that these “firies” are almost all volunteers, battling blazes for sheer love of their local community.</p> <p>Relying on volunteers isn’t unique to Australia’s rural firefighting brigades. Other countries with large numbers of volunteer firefighters include Austria, Germany, France, the United States, Japan and China.</p> <p>But Australia arguably relies on these volunteers to an extent unparalleled in the world, due to the country’s sheer size and the extent to which it is <a href="https://www.ga.gov.au/scientific-topics/community-safety/bushfire">prone to bushfire</a>. In terms of sheer scale of fires, only the vastness of Russia and Canada can compete, and neither has a climate and ecology quite so primed to burn.</p> <p><strong>Almost 1% of the population volunteers</strong></p> <p>About 195,000 Australians volunteer with the nation’s six state and two territory bushfire services. The most populous state, New South Wales, has the largest number (71,234). The Australian Capital Territory has the fewest (a little more than 400).</p> <hr /> <p><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/311321/original/file-20200122-117911-1kpb21a.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt="" /> <span class="caption"></span> <span class="attribution"><a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/" class="license">CC BY-ND</a></span></p> <hr /> <p>The numbers reflect how many people live in rural areas and the degree to which those communities face bushfire risk. Thus Tasmania has 5,000 volunteer fighters despite having a smaller population than the ACT, because relatively more live in small towns.</p> <p>On raw figures, Australia has the ninth-largest number of volunteer firefighters by nation, after China, Russia, the United States, Japan, Vietnam, Germany, Poland and Austria.</p> <hr /> <p><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/311526/original/file-20200123-162228-1xm2nl8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/311526/original/file-20200123-162228-1xm2nl8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt="" /></a> <span class="caption"></span> <span class="attribution"><a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" class="license">CC BY</a></span></p> <hr /> <p>Comparing raw national figures doesn’t necessarily capture the special place of rural firies in Australia. Austria and its neighbours, for example, have cultures of volunteer municipal firefighting brigades that go back <a href="http://www.aeiou.at/aeiou.encyclop.f/f311018.htm;internal&amp;action=_setlanguage.action?LANGUAGE=en">nearly a thousand years</a> and cover structural fires as well.</p> <p>Australia’s voluntary fire brigades are focused on bushfires. If we were to exclude <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20Subject/2071.0%7E2016%7EMain%20Features%7ESmall%20Towns%7E113">the 71% of the Australia population</a> that live in major cities, the proportion of Australia’s rural population volunteering with a bushfire service is more like 4.5%. This indicates how central these brigades are to local communities.</p> <p>It hard to put a precise number on the value volunteer firefighters make to Australia’s economy, but it is significant. The amount and quality of volunteer work is, of course, variable. But let’s assume each volunteer gives 150 hours of their time a year. This is likely conservative, given estimates of <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2019-12-27/volunteer-firefighters-approaching-100-days-ask-for-help/11829100">the time volunteers have given up this season</a>. At the average weekly Australian wage (including superannuation guarantee), the volunteers contribute about A$1.3 billion to the community.</p> <p><strong>Operations and funding</strong></p> <p>Even though most firefighters in the rural fire services are volunteers, there are still significant costs. The NSW Rural Fire Service, for example, maintains more than 2,000 brigades with their own stations, vehicles and other running costs. It also employs 965 paid staff in administrative and operational roles. Capital investment of $42 million for stations and equipment was made in 2018-19 in addition to running costs.</p> <p>The following breakdown is indicative of the running costs facing every state or territory service.</p> <hr /> <p><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/311316/original/file-20200122-117962-tsdgu2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/311316/original/file-20200122-117962-tsdgu2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt="" /></a> <span class="caption"></span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Michelle Cull/The Conversation</span>, <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" class="license">CC BY</a></span></p> <hr /> <p>While funding depends on the individual state or territory, in general the services are funded by levies, imposed through state and territory laws.</p> <p><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/309863/original/file-20200114-103954-kujjhx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/309863/original/file-20200114-103954-kujjhx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=237&amp;fit=clip" alt="" /></a> <span class="caption">Sample of a rates notice including the fire services levy for Murrindindi Shire Council, Victoria.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Murrindindi Shire Council</span></span></p> <p>Victoria’s Country Fire Authority, for example, is funded under the <a href="http://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/vic/consol_act/cfaa1958292/">Country Fire Authority Act (1958)</a> through a <a href="https://www.sro.vic.gov.au/fire-services-property-levy">property levy</a>. It is collected by local councils and passed on to the state government, which then distributes it to the authority. The levy includes a fixed component plus a variable rate based on a property’s market value.</p> <p>New South Wales also has a levy tied to council rates (under the <a href="https://www.legislation.nsw.gov.au/#/view/act/1997/65">Rural Fires Act 1997</a>). But most funding comes from a levy on insurance payments (imposed under the <a href="https://www.legislation.nsw.gov.au/#/view/act/2017/32/full">Emergency Services Levy Act 2017</a>). In the 2018/19 financial year these levies raised about $440 million combined. State and federal governments kicked in a further $50 million, with $26 million in “other income” – mostly recouped costs from interstate and overseas deployments and use of its aircraft by other agencies.</p> <p><strong>The role of donations</strong></p> <p>Donations have not historically been a major funding source for any state or territory fire service. But in times of crisis the public often want to do their bit by giving money.</p> <p>In the 2017-2018 financial year, for example, the <a href="https://www.rfs.nsw.gov.au/about-us/fundraising%3C/u">NSW Rural Fire Service &amp; Brigades Donations Fund</a> received $768,044 in donations. Now it has $50 million or so coming its way due to comedian <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-01-14/celeste-barber-facebook-fundraiser-is-complicated/11861146">Celeste Barber’s bushfire appeal</a>.</p> <p>It’s possible many of those giving to Barber’s fundraiser didn’t realise their money would only go to New South Wales brigades. It’s also possible many thought they might help volunteers directly, such as through reimbursements for taking leave without pay. Others want to ensure volunteers don’t <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-12-11/nsw-bushfires-firefighters-raise-money-to-buy-face-masks/11790096">have to buy their own equipment</a>.</p> <p>Volunteers won’t necessarily benefit directly in the way <a href="https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6554386/australians-should-consider-a-national-bushfire-levy/">donors might like</a>. This is not to say donations won’t help, though. Volunteer brigades might benefit from money for new vehicles or computers, for example.</p> <p>The sacrifices made by Australian volunteer firefighters have only added to the “firies” mythos. Fire services have been flooded with <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/news/the-feed/we-asked-volunteer-firefighters-what-they-need-to-get-through-this-bushfire-season">record numbers of applications</a>. As the threat of bushfires increases, the national love affair with volunteer firies is likely to only intensify.</p> <p>Which is something no elected politician would be wise to ignore.</p> <hr /> <p><em>Correction: the infographic “Top 10 nations with volunteer firefighters” has been updated to correct an error. The estimated population of Poland in 2019 was 37,887,768, not 8,955,102 as originally stated. 8,955,102 was Austria’s estimated population.</em><!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/129881/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: http://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><span><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/michelle-cull-340911"><em>Michelle Cull</em></a><em>, Senior Lecturer in Accounting and Financial Planning, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/western-sydney-university-1092">Western Sydney University</a></em></span></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/value-beyond-money-australias-special-dependence-on-volunteer-firefighters-129881">original article</a>.</em></p>

Money & Banking

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“Ball of flames”: Firefighter’s distress call after watching waterbomber plane crash

<p>An audio clip has emerged of a ground staff member calling for help following the crash of an aerial water tanker in southern NSW.</p> <p>In the distress call aired on the <em>Today</em> show, the staff could be heard calling the Rural Fire Service (RFS) command after witnessing the plane plummet in Eurobodalla on Thursday afternoon.</p> <p>“Fire comms… message red, speak to your captain. Message this is red,” the person could be heard saying.</p> <p>“Yeah fire comms... It's just a ball of flames... over.”</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">Three fire fighters have tragically been killed, their water-bombing aircraft crashing in New South Wales. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/9Today?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#9Today</a> <a href="https://t.co/F2dprzAU0H">pic.twitter.com/F2dprzAU0H</a></p> — The Today Show (@TheTodayShow) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheTodayShow/status/1220416053613879296?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 23, 2020</a></blockquote> <p>All three US aerial firefighting specialists on the Lockheed C-130 Hercules tanker died in the incident. The plane was fighting the Clyde Mountain fire when it crashed to the ground and exploded in a “large fireball”, NSW RFS Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said.</p> <p>“Three remarkable men, coming down here to Australia once again this season, helping us to save and protect people but tragically this year, they won’t be going home to the United States,” said Commissioner Fitzsimmons.</p> <p>The Commissioner said while the aircraft’s explosion was “absolutely a loss to the aviation capabilities”, the RFS could “adapt and accommodate the loss of [this asset] as we have a number of others operating in NSW”.</p> <p>Investigators from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) are set to visit the crash site to collect evidence.</p> <p>“Should a critical safety issue be identified during the course of the investigation, the ATSB will immediately notify relevant stakeholders so appropriate and timely safety action can be taken,” the bureau said in a statement.</p>

Caring

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Disgust as firefighter is charged for starting 17 blazes while on bail for “serious sex offence”

<p>A volunteer firefighter has faced court after being accused of lighting multiple large blazes in Darwin with 17 counts of causing a bushfire.</p> <p>Mike Richard Holden, 27, applied for bail in the Darwin Local Court on Wednesday after police raided his home and arrested him the day before.</p> <p>The court, according to<span> </span><em><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.ntnews.com.au/news/crime-court/volunteer-firefighter-faces-court-charged-with-lighting-17-bushfires-in-the-darwin-rural-area/news-story/0fa1d244d369efb046376d5a4c28f0cc" target="_blank">NT News</a></em>, heard that Holden was on bail for alleged “serious sex offences” and was wearing an ankle monitor that placed him near the scenes of the fires within minutes of them starting between January and September last year.</p> <p>Holden’s lawyer, Shane McMaster, said that Holden doesn’t fit the typical profile of an arsonist, who is a “loner”.</p> <p>“He’s somebody who doesn’t fit that profile in my submission,” he said.</p> <p>McMaster said that in the bail application, his client had called some of the fires in and attended others to fight the blaze.</p> <p>McMaster explained that Holden had no prior criminal record, and the case against him was “obviously circumstantial”. McMaster also explained that Holden’s compliance with his bail conditions “barring these allegations, has been very good”.</p> <p>Judge Alan Woodcock refused bail and said that while Holden was a young man with a supportive family, he was also charged with “very serious indictable offences” which were allegedly committed while wearing a tracking device.</p> <p>Holden was remanded in custody and will return to court on February 26th.</p>

Legal

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Heartbreaking images from hero firefighter's funeral

<p>A volunteer firefighter who died in the line of duty at the Green Wattle Creek fire has been remembered as a “hero” and a “selfless” father.</p> <p>NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) member Andrew O’Dwyer died at 36 when his fire truck rolled while battling the blaze near Buxton on December 19.</p> <p>Hundreds of family, friends and RFS members attended the requiem mass in Horsley Park on Tuesday as tributes flowed for the young father.</p> <p>Dozens of volunteers formed a guard of honour to farewell the fallen firefighter as the firetruck and hearse went past.</p> <p>O’Dwyer was posthumously awarded the Commissioner’s commendation for extraordinary service and bravery.</p> <p>Brigade Captain Darren Nation said O’Dwyer, one of his closest friends, was a “rare and beautiful person” who would sacrifice his own life for others.</p> <p>“The love he had for the fire brigade was as thick as the blood that ran through his veins,” said Nation.</p> <p>O’Dwyer’s father Errol told the congregation that his son was a free spirit whose greatest achievement was his daughter, 19-months-old Charlotte.</p> <p>RFS Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons addressed the toddler in his speech to the congregation. “Charlotte should know her father was a selfless and special man, who only left because he was a hero,” Fitzsimmons said.</p> <p>The young girl was presented with her father’s service medal and at one point wore his helmet and touched the casket.</p> <p><em><span>OverSixty, its parent company and its owners are donating a total of $200,000 to the Vinnie’s Bushfire Appeal. We have also pledged an additional $100,000 of product to help all those affected by the bushfire crisis. We would love you to support too! Head to the <a href="https://donate.vinnies.org.au/appeals-nsw/vinnies-nsw-bushfire-appeal-nsw">Vinnie's website</a> to donate.</span></em></p>

News

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Mother admits to stealing Woolworths donations for firefighters

<p>A western Sydney woman has admitted to breaking into a Woolworths store and stealing a trolley of donations for firefighters.</p> <p>37-year-old Josephine Trask pleaded guilty to one count of breaking, entering and stealing and one count of negligent driving at Parramatta Local Court on Tuesday.</p> <p>The woman broke into the Schofields supermarket on Christmas Day and took offerings that were set aside for the NSW Rural Fire Service including food, drinks and SIM cards.</p> <p>Trask then drove off without a license in a Holden Barina with a 48-year-old man. Police allege they pursued the woman but she did not stop, prompting the officers to call in a PolAir helicopter. She later crashed into a fence in St Albans Road.</p> <p>Police prosecutor Leesa McEvoy told Parramatta Bail Court in December that Trask was “unlicensed” and “does not have a right to be on the road”.</p> <p>“This offence occurred at 3.40pm on Christmas Day,” she said. “It is not out of the realms of possibility that families would be on the streets at this time.”</p> <p>Trask will return to court on Thursday.</p> <p>The man was charged with possessing a restricted substance and is set to face Blacktown Local Court on February 3.</p> <p><em><span>OverSixty, its parent company and its owners are donating a total of $200,000 to the Vinnie’s Bushfire Appeal. We have also pledged an additional $100,000 of product to help all those affected by the bushfire crisis. We would love you to support too! Head to <a href="https://donate.vinnies.org.au/appeals-nsw/vinnies-nsw-bushfire-appeal-nsw">the website</a> to donate.</span></em></p>

News

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Photo of firefighter and newborn son captures hope amidst bushfire crisis

<p><span>A photo of a volunteer firefighter with his newborn child has offered a glimmer of hope amidst the bushfire crisis ravaging Australia.</span></p> <p><span>Kurt Hickling is a professional photographer and Country Fire Authority volunteer. On Sunday, he captured a photograph of fellow volunteer Beau Haines holding his newborn child Spencer at the Kiewa fire station in north-east Victoria.</span></p> <p><span>The picture has gone viral, with more than 1,300 people sharing the snap on Facebook.</span></p> <p><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fhicklingphotography%2Fposts%2F2692296210857028&amp;width=500" width="500" height="537" style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allow="encrypted-media"></iframe></p> <p><span>“I wanted to create something positive for everyone to look at and send a message out there how important our volunteers are, and how important it is for them to be able to return home safe,” Hickling told the <em><a href="https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/australia/firefighter-and-newborn-son-photographed-at-kiewa-headquarters-goes-viral/ar-BBYG7OC?li=AAgfLCP">ABC</a></em>.</span></p> <p><span>“We just thought, let’s send out a message from a volunteer’s perspective about how important it is for them to get back to their families.”</span></p> <p><span>Haines told ABC Radio Melbourne he was relieved to be able to attend his son’s birth on Christmas Eve after battling blazes at Bateman’s Bay and Corryong in the days prior.</span></p> <p><span>“It's such a beautiful photo, especially with all the fires that are around,” he said. </span></p> <p><span>Spencer’s mother Cassie said the picture “nearly brought tears to my eyes”.</span></p> <p><em><span>Photo credit: Hickling Photography / Facebook</span></em></p> <p><em><span>OverSixty, its parent company and its owners are donating a total of $200,000 to the Vinnie’s Bushfire Appeal. We have also pledged an additional $100,000 of product to help all those affected by the bushfire crisis. We would love you to support too! Head to <a href="https://donate.vinnies.org.au/appeals-nsw/vinnies-nsw-bushfire-appeal-nsw">the website</a> to donate.</span></em></p>

News

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Black Saturday firefighters want you to listen to them

<p>Evocative <a href="https://theconversation.com/as-bushfires-intensify-we-need-to-acknowledge-the-strain-on-our-volunteers-127517">images of volunteer firefighters</a> fill our newspapers and television screens. As we look with gratitude into their ash-stained faces, we want to see a modern-day hero looking back at us.</p> <p>But firefighters don’t want us to see heroes, because calling them heroes overstates their ability to control fires and downplays the long-term psychological impacts of fighting fires.</p> <p>That’s what we’ve learned after interviewing Black Saturday firefighters ten years after the tragedy, as part of an ongoing research project exploring the role of memory and commemoration in organisational planning.</p> <p>As we listen to their recollections of that day, there is no doubt they engaged in heroic acts and need to be remembered for their bravery. But when we laud firefighters as heroes, we fail to acknowledge the ongoing impact of the fires. As one firefighter told us:</p> <blockquote> <p><em>Each year on the Black Saturday anniversary every community group wanted to have a thank you event and they were getting frustrated by the firefighters not turning up.</em></p> <p><em>What they couldn’t understand was what the firefighters were physically and mentally going through at that time.</em></p> </blockquote> <p><strong>Memorials do the remembering for us</strong></p> <p>Government funding for firefighting needs to make provision for counselling services for firefighters dealing with the long-term psychological effects of fighting fires.</p> <p>Several firefighters talked about “deliberately trying not to remember because it is so difficult”. For others, remembering together was part of the healing process.</p> <blockquote> <p><em>After the 10th anniversary, I had a bit of a meltdown. We’d arranged a gathering of that group of people who were very close on the day and I wasn’t going to go. I just had a picture of myself sitting in the corner crying my eyes out all night and it’s the first time that group had come together since the first anniversary and as it turned out it was brilliant.</em></p> <p><em>It was exactly what we needed. It was a very close group of people who had a lot of trust in each other.</em></p> </blockquote> <p>Over the past decade, memorials have been erected in communities affected by the Black Saturday fires. But firefighters we spoke to were concerned that creating memorials allowed communities and authorities to relegate the fires and their impact to the past.</p> <p><a href="https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev.soc.24.1.105">Scholars of commemoration</a> have observed that giving monumental form to memory can enable us to divest ourselves of the obligation to remember. It’s as if the memorial does the remembering for us.</p> <p>Rather than building memorials, firefighting organisations need to commemorate through forms of collective communing, where knowledge is shared by older, experienced hands with new firefighters.</p> <p>This communal commemoration could build on the informal forms of commemoration that firefighters told us they prefer – sitting around the fire truck, sharing stories. <a href="https://www.emv.vic.gov.au/news/linton-staff-ride">Staff rides</a>, for instance, a tactical walk retracing the steps of those involved in a major fire, is an effective way of passing on knowledge while also remembering and honouring the work of firefighters.</p> <p><strong>Making sure it never happens again</strong></p> <p>Black Saturday firefighters we spoke to urged memorialisation to elicit a call to action.</p> <blockquote> <p><em>Memorials do have a profound effect. The Kinglake memorial for me is extremely powerful in terms of reminding us of the scale of the tragedy, the names – I can still picture the faces. It is deeply emotional and powerful.</em></p> <p><em>But how we can translate that powerful emotion into a resilience and a determination to make sure it never happens again?</em></p> </blockquote> <p>Firefighters don’t want a roll call of heroes, but for communities to remember the lessons we have learnt from <a href="https://theconversation.com/where-to-take-refuge-in-your-home-during-a-bushfire-72370">past fires</a> and to ensure they have a bushfire plan and to heed warnings to leave.</p> <p>As one firefighter said about the Black Saturday anniversary:</p> <blockquote> <p><em>It should have been an opportunity to remind people of the dangers of bushfires and what can happen and the limitations of an organisation like ours, and to use that in a positive way to reinforce future preparedness rather than constantly looking back at the tragedy and not learning anything from it.</em></p> <p><em>It was a national tragedy owned by everybody and we should be able to build up a cultural memory.</em></p> </blockquote> <p>Collective memory carries an ethical obligation. In commemorating firefighters as heroes, we can fall into the danger of overstating their ability to control fires, absolving ourselves of <a href="https://theconversation.com/victorias-trial-by-fire-why-we-still-need-to-tackle-complacency-21289">responsibility</a>.</p> <p>Rather than simply valorising and memorialising firefighters as heroes, all levels of governments need to accept responsibility for their role in mitigating future bushfire impacts.</p> <p>This means ensuring the landscape is managed appropriately, that our firefighters have the resources to fight fires, and that there is effective, science-based climate policy.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/128632/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: http://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><span><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/leanne-cutcher-156380"><em>Leanne Cutcher</em></a><em>, Professor, University of Sydney Business School, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-sydney-841">University of Sydney</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/graham-dwyer-908955">Graham Dwyer</a>, Lecturer at the Centre for Social Impact, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/swinburne-university-of-technology-767">Swinburne University of Technology</a></em></span></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/i-can-still-picture-the-faces-black-saturday-firefighters-want-you-to-listen-to-them-not-call-them-heroes-128632">original article</a>.</em></p>

Domestic Travel

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Lowest act: Thieves steal gear to pose as firefighters and beg for fake donations

<p>A NSW fire station has warned residents to keep an eye out as thieves stole firefighter gear from the station and could be posing as fireys to get donations from unaware locals.</p> <p>Wyong Fire Station, on the Central Coast of NSW, was broken into on Saturday night and alerted locals to what had been stolen in a Facebook post.</p> <p><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Ffrnsw505%2Fposts%2F1990863537726068&amp;width=500" width="500" height="745" style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allow="encrypted-media"></iframe></p> <p>Yellow fire helmets, bushfire jackets and gloves, ID cards, goggles, shirts and trousers as well as white flash hoods resembling balaclavas were stolen.</p> <p>“All of these items are clearly marked or branded with FRNSW logos and some of these will have firefighters names on them,” the post read.</p> <p>The post ended by saying that FRNSW “do not door knock or go around asking for monetary donations or discounts”.</p> <p>Hundreds have since commented on the post, condemning the thieves’ actions.</p> <p>“What is wrong with these people?” one woman said.</p> <p>“This is just the lowest act,” another person said.</p> <p>“This is horrible, hard to believe that someone could be this low or do something like this. Hope they find the grub!” another wrote.</p> <p>A man commented saying that they saw a ‘solo door knocker’ when driving.</p> <p>“Saw a ‘solo door knocker’ in Gorokan, Dudley St about an hour ago when driving. Was a man, dressed in RFS and holding a bucket.</p> <p>“I have notified the station, maybe keep an eye out if in Gorokan.”</p>

Travel Trouble

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Why so many are "exhausted" of the bushfires

<p>It is only mid-November but we have to walk early to avoid the heat. A northerly wind picks up clouds of dust and pollen, sending dirty billows across the paddocks. The long limbs of the gum trees groan overhead. Leaves and twigs litter the road. We stop to pull a branch off to the side.</p> <p>Not even summer yet and already we are facing our first catastrophic fire rating of the season. Normally, I don’t even worry much about fires until after Xmas. In the southern states, it is January and February that are the most dangerous.</p> <p>We live in the Adelaide Hills and never schedule holidays away from home in those months, even though it is hot and unpleasant. Now I’m worried we will have to cancel our pre-Christmas holiday plans. Winter will be the only time we can leave.</p> <p>We cross paths with a friend walking her dog. We share mutual exclamations about the weather and the risk and she reminds me about the neighbourhood fire group meeting. I should go. I know, better than most people, just how important and lifesaving they can be. But I just don’t want to.</p> <p>On the weekend, my husband had made us start the fire pump. It’s good to make sure it is all working, but I harbour a vague, irrational resentment at having to be taught how to do it every year. I know why. Mike has all that mechanical knowledge embedded in his brain like a primary instinct, but the information trickles out of mine like water through sand. I cannot rely on remembering what to do in an emergency.</p> <p>I know my limitations. I’ve attached a laminated, labelled diagram to the pump with numbered instructions on it. Leave nothing to chance. My daughters are running through the pump this year too – in case they find themselves home alone.</p> <p>Fuel on, throttle on, choke on.</p> <p>I worry that the pull cord will be too hard, but my youngest yanks at it with practised determination and the pump starts first go.</p> <p>Choke off, throttle up, water on.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/305086/original/file-20191204-70122-1hrgimn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/305086/original/file-20191204-70122-1hrgimn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt="" /></a> <span class="caption">At the fire pump.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author provided</span></span></p> <p>The sprinklers fire up a dull, thudding rhythm around the verandah, spraying a mist over the garden and the cat while Mike runs through the finer details of protecting the pump with a cover and sprinkler in the event of a fire.</p> <p>I watch the garden soaking up the unexpected bounty and notice that some of the plants have gone a bit leggy. Their undergrowth is woody with age. I’ll have to cut that back, prune off the old growth. Some of them may have to go. Much as I love Australian plants and their waterwise habits, I can’t have many in the garden. Most of them are just too flammable.</p> <p>Everything we do here, every decision we make, is shaped by fire risk: the garden, the house, our holidays, our movements, where we park the cars, our power and our water supply, even our telecommunications.</p> <p>It is relentless. A friend of mine who went through Ash Wednesday said she was just tired, after 45 years, of the constant worry. She wanted to move somewhere safer. But she couldn’t bring herself to leave the bush.</p> <p>Perhaps it would be easier not to know the risk, to live in ignorance.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/305110/original/file-20191204-70133-1nkvveo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/305110/original/file-20191204-70133-1nkvveo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt="" /></a> <span class="caption">Though the worry is constant, many people can’t bring themselves to leave the bush.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author provided</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong>‘Too busy’</strong></p> <p>My local fire brigade had an open day a few weeks ago. The volunteers were busy for days, cleaning the shed, preparing the sausage sizzle. Lots of new people have moved into the area, mostly from the city, and chances are they don’t appreciate the risks of living in a bushfire-prone area.</p> <p>The brigade put up signs, distributed flyers and knocked on doors with invitations. On the open day, I wander over and ask how many people have turned up.</p> <p>“Oh about half a dozen,” says the captain brightly, before adding, “Well, maybe four actually. And only two of those are new.”</p> <p>Someone asks about a family who has moved into a property down the road, a younger couple with kids and a stay-at-home dad. Would he be interested in joining the fire brigade?</p> <p>“Said he was too busy. Maybe later when the kids are older.”</p> <p>There are more and more people moving into the high risk urban fringes of our major cities, where houses mingle with flammable vegetation. Fewer and fewer people have the time or inclination to join their local volunteer fire brigade.</p> <p>Many of them commute for work. They think fire-fighting is what happens when you ring 000. They don’t seem to realise that outside of the city, it is every community for itself. We have to fight our own fires.<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/305087/original/file-20191204-70144-4l4mik.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/305087/original/file-20191204-70144-4l4mik.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt="" /></a> <span class="caption">Increasing population in the urban interface.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author provided.</span></span></p> <p>I’m watching the news filled with images of the fires in New South Wales. Traumatised householders stand in front of the twisted wreckage of their homes. Tumbled masses of brick and iron are all that remain of a house full of memories.</p> <p>“We never expected….”</p> <p>“I’ve never seen….”</p> <p>“I never imagined….”</p> <p>No matter how well prepared we are for fires, we always underestimate the scale of the loss – the photos, the family pets, the mementos and heirlooms, or simply the decades of work building a house, a property, a business.</p> <p>Looking at the television screen, I can’t help but notice the blackened tree trunks next to the ruins of their homes. I worked for a while in community safety for the Country Fire Authority when we lived in Victoria, researching and writing <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/270275555_Coping_with_fire_Psychological_preparedness_for_bushfires">reports</a>, and later <a href="https://www.ligatu.re/book/a-future-in-flames/">a book</a>, on how people respond to bushfires.</p> <p>I’m well versed in the risk factors – proximity to native vegetation, fuel loads, clearance around houses, house construction and maintenance and most importantly of all, human behaviour.</p> <p><strong>Leaving is not easy</strong></p> <p>I used to live in a forest too, with mature eucalypts surrounding my house. We always knew this was a risk. We cleared the undergrowth and removed any “ladders” of vegetation that could allow ground fires to climb the trees. We removed new saplings growing close to the house.</p> <p>We did as much as we could to make our 1970s home fire safe: installing sprinklers, sealing the roof, covering all the timber fascias in metal cladding.</p> <p>In an average fire, we probably would have been fine. But when the Kinglake fires approached from the north on Black Saturday, I was no longer sure we would survive. A last-minute wind change swept the fire away from our home.</p> <p>Like many people, in and around the impact zone, the fires uprooted us and disconnected us. There were so many deaths, so many people and houses gone. And yet so many are still living in the same risky buildings, often rebuilt in the same risky locations. As if we never learn.</p> <p>We no longer felt so attached to our home. When the opportunity to leave arose, we took it. When we moved to South Australia, we still wanted to live in the bush, despite the fire risk. But it seemed impossible to find a home that had been built for bushfire safety.</p> <p>A real estate agent showed me an elevated timber home that looked out to the south-west across vast hectares of native forest. A death trap if ever there was one.</p> <p>“Yes,” agreed the agent. “I’ll just have to find a buyer who doesn’t mind about that.”</p> <p>Our new house is built of stone, steel and iron, with double-glazed windows and a simple roofline surrounded by sprinklers and hard paving. Every crack and crevice is sealed. And it sits in the middle of a cleared paddock surrounded by a low-flammability garden. We look out over the bushland from a safer distance.</p> <p>When my children were small, I packed them up and took them into town on every or total fire ban day. It was the prevailing advice from fire authorities. I cannot recall anyone else who did so – it is too hard, too disruptive and too inconvenient. And what do you do with the pets and horses and sheep? Let alone farms and businesses whose assets are practically uninsurable.</p> <p>Besides, there are so many total fire ban days and they are getting more and more frequent. We’d be leaving for all of summer soon and not everyone has somewhere safer to go.</p> <p>My former colleagues at the CFA confirmed that <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S037971120000014X">few people take this advice to leave on total fire ban days</a>. When the fire risk categories were upgraded to include “catastrophic”, people simply recalibrated their fire risk range to suit.</p> <p>Now total fire ban days are everyday, ordinary events and people only talk about leaving if the risk is catastrophic or “code red”. And even then, few of them do.</p> <p>That’s why fire agencies continue to put so much effort into teaching people how to stay and defend their homes – because that is where they are going to end up, no matter what they are told or what they say. After the shocking deaths on Black Saturday, urban politicians thundered in self-righteous fury.</p> <p>“Why don’t you just tell people to leave?”</p> <p>Like it is that easy.</p> <p><strong>Other people's fates</strong></p> <p>I’m reminded of the <a href="https://ajem.infoservices.com.au/items/AJEM-13-03-17">neighbourhood fire safety programs</a>. These are groups of neighbours in fire risk areas who meet up regularly to undertake training in fire preparation. They run in several states, such as <a href="https://www.cfa.vic.gov.au/plan-prepare/community-fireguard">Community Fireguard</a> in Victoria, <a href="https://www.cfs.sa.gov.au/site/resources/text_only/community_fire_safe.jsp">Community Fire Safe</a> in SA and <a href="https://www.fire.nsw.gov.au/page.php?id=133">Community Fire Units</a> in NSW.</p> <p>Some of the groups in Victoria have continued for years, often meeting annually just before the fire season to run through their plans and discuss issues they might be having. They share advice on how to protect properties, what to do when things go wrong, whose house offers the safest refuge, who is leaving and who is staying. They establish phone trees to warn everyone of imminent dangers and to stay in touch.</p> <p>I know <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/337670275_A_review_of_the_role_of_Community_Fireguard_in_the_2009_Black_Saturday_bushfires">these programs work</a>. I surveyed many of the fireguard groups who survived Black Saturday and compared them to neighbours who weren’t in groups.</p> <p>The active members of fireguard groups were more likely to defend their houses. Active members’ houses were also more likely to survive, even when they were not defended. A handful felt their training had not prepared them for the severity of the fires they faced. In truth, I don’t think anyone, not even the most experienced firefighter, expected the severity of those fires. But the vast majority were certain their training helped, and had saved their lives.</p> <p>In every group, there are people who do the work and those who don’t. There are always neighbours who are too busy for the training and just ask for the notes, which they never read. They want to be on the phone tree, even though they have not prepared their property and have not thought about what they will do in an emergency. These “inactive” members do not seem to benefit from training. Their houses have the same loss rates as people who aren’t in fireguard groups.</p> <p>No matter how much other members of the group support them and encourage them, it does not help. I’ve tried to help before, running a fireguard group, but I don’t want to do it again. I don’t want to hold myself responsible for other people’s fates. It is enough to take responsibility for myself and my family.</p> <p>I remember the fireguard trainers who blamed themselves, who were blamed by others, when neighbourhoods they had worked with suffered deaths and house losses. They often targeted the riskiest locations, areas that were virtually indefensible. Their information was not always accepted.</p> <p>Trainers, some of whom had lost friends, neighbours and houses in the fires themselves, felt criticised for advice that had not been given, and also for advice that had not been taken. You cannot defend yourself against such angry grief, particularly when you are carrying so much of your own. You just have to listen. A court of law, which looks only for someone to blame, is no place to resolve the <a href="https://www.stockandland.com.au/story/3640945/bushfire-commission-lashes-government-failures/">complexities of bushfire tragedies</a>.</p> <p>I had originally thought, when I wrote <a href="https://www.ligatu.re/book/a-future-in-flames/">my book about bushfires</a>, that it would be a simple analysis of the lessons we had learnt. After the Black Saturday fires, I had to write a completely different book. I realised it wasn’t about lessons learnt (even though there are many), it was about our failure to learn from history, our astonishing capacity to repeat the mistakes of the past.</p> <p><strong>Harder and harder to protect people</strong></p> <p>“We never expected….”</p> <p>“I’ve never seen….”</p> <p>“I never imagined….”</p> <p>The same things are said after every fire. Blaming a lack of prescribed burning in distant parks when we know that preparation within 100 metres of our own homes is far more important.</p> <p>Waiting for an “official” warning, as an evil-looking, yellow-black cloud streams overhead and embers land sizzling in the pool beside you.</p> <p>Politicians with slick, easy point-scoring ways that divert attention from their own policy obstruction.</p> <p>The hopeful denial that bad things only happen to other people and won’t happen to us.</p> <p>We’ve just experienced the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/bureauofmeteorology/videos/1577380252402576/?t=16">hottest year on record, and the second driest year on record</a>. We have lost <a href="https://pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/articles/why-are-our-rainforests-burning">rainforests that have not burnt</a> for millennia and may not recover. With climate change, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4785963/">fires have become more frequent</a> across all the Australian states, and with more extreme weather events, they are likely to become even <a href="https://theconversation.com/climate-change-will-make-fire-storms-more-likely-in-southeastern-australia-127225">less predictable and more dangerous</a>.</p> <p>There is no avoiding the fact that for the next few decades, we face an increasingly dangerous environment. We have more people living in more dangerous areas, in a worsening climate. Our volunteer firefighters are ageing, and local brigades struggle to entice new members to join. It’s getting harder and harder to protect people.</p> <p>It would be nice if there was a silver bullet to protect us. If broad-scale <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08941920.2014.905894">prescribed burning in parks actually protected houses</a> and lives, or if we had enough fire trucks and water bombers to save us all.</p> <p>It would be great if we had a cohesive suite of integrated bushfire policies across states, strong enough to survive from one generation to the next. They could include adequate building standards and <a href="https://www.resorgs.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/resource_challenges_for_housing.pdf">access to materials</a>, effective <a href="https://ajem.infoservices.com.au/items/AJEM-27-04-09">planning and development codes</a>, <a href="https://eprints.qut.edu.au/63845/">integrated municipal, state and federal strategies</a> incorporating education, health and safety campaigns. We could create a culture of fire-awareness, rather than panicked responses to disasters followed by a long, inevitable slide into apathy and ennui.</p> <p>Perhaps one day we will. But in the meantime, our best protection lies in our own hands, safeguarding our own property and making carefully considered plans in advance as to how to save our own lives. It is not an easy path, and one none of us wants to take. But in the end, we are the only ones who can do it.</p> <p><em>Views expressed are the author’s own and do not reflect or represent those of the CFA or any other fire agency.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/128093/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: http://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></em></p> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/danielle-clode-442877">Danielle Clode</a>, Senior Research Fellow in Creative Writing, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/flinders-university-972">Flinders University</a></em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/friday-essay-living-with-fire-and-facing-our-fears-128093">original article</a>.</em></p>

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