A Public Service !

We have just had one of the most severe bushfire days on record with more than four hundred homes destroyed and four lives lost.  The situation in New South Wales and Queensland was described as "catastrophic " and yet vast areas in both states were spared.  Bad as it was, it had the potential to be a lot worse.

What we watched on the television news was heartening.  Wherever there was fire there were dozens of fire trucks and an army of men and women battling the flames and saving lives and property.  In this country that vast army that springs into action every fire season are volunteers. They are people who walk away from the jobs which earn them a living and put their lives on the line doing immensely dangerous work.  Without them we would be virtually defenceless in the annual fire season.

Those fire trucks and the equipment they contain are provided by the government and being a member of a volunteer fire brigade is an all year task of training to use that equipment safely and to get the best result.  Their employers accept the duty of releasing them in a fire emergency and often that evolves into a task that takes many days to bring a forest fire under control.  We have reciprocal arrangements with other states where relief crews are flown in to allow exhausted firefighters to stand down for a break while the fire fighting continues.

Just about every little community in the bush seems to have a volunteer fire brigade.   There is an ongoing spirit of camaraderie and the people who train together rely on the good judgement and skills of the team when that work puts their lives at risk.  During this latest fire, crews were injured and a truck destroyed when a falling tree hit a vehicle.

This fire was unusually early and remarkably extensive, and that is probably what we can expect in the future.  Global warming is extending the fire season and it is being exacerbated by this ongoing drought.  The people who give their time to work as volunteer fire fighters perform a very important public service and there is now a need for more public spirited citizens to join their ranks to keep Australia fire safe.

In recent times fire retardant dropped from aircraft has become a new weapon in fighting bushfires but nothing beats an experienced crew on the ground, setting back burning to deprive the fire of fuel and generally planning a hazard reducing approach.  Now would be a very good time for healthy people with public spirit to consider joining a volunteer fire brigade.   They would be putting on a uniform for which Australia is justifiably proud.