MPA
Elite Veteran
Location: Australia
| Jim
The Eucalypt trees here have a combustable oil in them naturally and just exploded or go up like they are covered in fuel.
The Eucalypt is where all out Koala's live and eat leaves all day so, they get stoned off the eucalypt and dont move too fast.
Following a bushfire there is always piles of chared Koala's about it's pretty gruesome.
The firefighters here have to be into the job.
The ones in the city Metropolitan are paid, the rest in the country fire brigades are all non paid volunteers.
(all the ones in full yellow gear)
It is expected of everyone in a average country town to go and fight fires for the last century here at least.
The Fire stations are 2 or 3 truck teams and paid for by fund raising and all the locals coughing up.
The basis of it is every land owner in the area of a country town is threatened by a common enemy being bushfire so everyone is expected to be on the front line when the going gets tough and help each other protect each others property.
Most farms are quite large by overseas comparison and there is not that many of us here per country town and so it is just the way it is and always has been.
There is enough people, buildings and commerce in our 6 or so metropolitan cities to have paid fire fighters but not in the country.
Any money it gets from the govt etc goes to aeriel fire fighting and the like, but not the individuals on the ground.
They will feed you and transport you but thats all.
Same for SES, State Emergency Services, volunteers.
They are the ones who peel the motorists out of their smashed cars and the like in country areas every weekend in between search and rescue missions in rugged terrain.
My personal view in this is all the trucks should have McDonalds advertising on them and anyone else who cares to cough up a dollar toward our fire services more than just a "token donation" but we have this breed of people that cant stand the thought of commercialising such things like it's some sacred society.
What you may be used to in the USA with commercial involvment and public services sends these people into catatonic fits.
"Ahhhhhh!!!! privatisation" they cry.
The SES and CFA have no hope of improving finances as long as one half of the public has this pointless posture.
The CFA and SES are are great direct marketing opportunity for a number of corporations seeking to sell to rural customers..
What better way to get everyone to go to Macca's than have a Fire Truck with golden arches on the front come and save your house.
Who gives a porkies if it has Ronald McDonald on the front fender, so long as the hoses work and the fire fighters are trained well and that takes $'s
They do give donations to now but its all token stuff.
The country fire services are barren of cash, the residents paid the price this year to the tune of 400 homes so far this week and all are up in arms about the lack of fire trucks in their street saving there house. as if they are paid fire services, and as if there is enough for each house to go around, and now blame thrown at the fire services so much by them the Prime minister is on radio defending the volunteers to the dense public.
The Govt minister pleading with the public "dont blame the fire services blame us the govt."
But when you ask all this lot to put their hands in theire pockets or take on commerce to boost fire services revenue they reel in shock.
That is the real tradgedy of all these fires.
The people who put posseisons before their own lives paid the price and so did those who ignored lawfull direction to evacuate hoses, 4 dead, 250 treated for burns.
Lives and property could be saved and they are not because those we have to protect them have little more than their bare hands and to add insult to it are then blamed for bushfires that are natural occurence in Australia.
Dave
www.polecam-systems.com |
( 7 dollars an hour from the time you get the call till the time you get home) but i didnt care about the money just doing what you can to save lives and property was enough for me... be safe down there!!!
jim
