This combination of drought and global warming delivered a fire season to eastern Australia that is causing spectacular damage and has virtually put holiday travel on hold. The toll of burning houses would have been much greater if it were not for the time and efforts of the heroic people who volunteer their services in countless local branches of the Rural Fire Services.
That is dangerous work and two families lost their breadwinner when a falling tree caused a fire truck to roll and several other members of its crew were injured. Wind changes make fire fighting hazardous because the fire can change direction suddenly, trapping those fighting it. Despite protective clothing, there have been casualties and in some cases the damage has been caused to the firefighters airways and that requires specialist hospital treatment.
The tragic death of those two family men caused the public to respond generously to an appeal setup to provide support for their families. That does raise the question of responsibility for death and accident cover for the men and women who volunteer their time to turn out and save lives and property every fire season. It is an essential service and the government responds by providing the necessary equipment such as fire trucks and hoses, but it seems that the volunteers are on their own when it comes to death cover.
In every community there are a few public minded people who put up their hand and volunteer to train as rural fire fighters. That involves a regular drain on their time to attend training sessions to learn the safest way to fight fires. Many are self employed while others seek their employers indulgence to free them when an emergency situation calls. There is group cameradie and in a dangerous fire individuals rely on the skill of others for their safety. This is an invaluable service which would be impossible without the generosity of the volunteers which contribute so heavily to public safety.
It is totally repugnant to find that the welfare of the families of those killed in such firefighting accidents will depend on the response to a public appeal. It would not be a big ask to expect the government to contribute to death and accident cover for volunteers responding to a fire emergency.
This is a public service and without it the government would be forced to call on the armed services for the numbers necessary to provide relief.
Statistically, the numbers killed in fire fighting activities are small in relation to the numbers that turn out to fight fires. Group cover could be negotiated at a reasonable premium and it would be a relief for the men and women who provide this service to know that their families were financially secure beyond any personal arrangement of cover that they may have put in place.
The past few days have shown how totally reliant we are on the RFS. Its time the government stepped up and provided death cover for those providing an essential public service.
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