VIC Bushfires

[chook]

Watch the 7:30 report on ABC, interesting stuff about the future of wild fire fighting.

[rescue5271]

Now you tell me chook.....

[chook]

sorry Bill thought you were half an hour behind. Nothing amazing just the new stuff that RFS has, true value of Elvis and its mates, should you stay should you go etc.
I found it interesting considering when we were fighting Ash Wednesday fires it was old tankers, rack hoes & Rega's (and olive drab dozers as well).
An interesting comment about how much as been learnt since 1939, and how much hasn't.
Anyway I'm sure you can see it on the Web.
cheers

[SA Firey]

Now you tell me chook.....

Dont worry Bill others have......and it confirmed what us ground crews have known all along...aerial firefighting has little or no effect :wink:

To quote Phil Cheney, and in his words they are nothing more than to give a visual impression something is being done.

[bittenyakka]

i haven't seen it but i assume that your quote of

"Dont worry Bill others have......and it confirmed what us ground crews have known all along...aerial firefighting has little or no effect wink"

is to be taken in the context of very large fires?

[Benji]

Mt Gellibrand Observations Saturday February 7, 2009

time        wind dir wind spd gust   tmp    dew pt   rh   fire
Sat 14:00 EDT   NNW   91   113   44.2   2.6   8   350 Ext
Sat 14:30 EDT   NW   91   106   43.6   2.1   8   343 Ext
Sat 14:36 EDT   NNW   87   106   45.3   3.4   8   333 Ext
Sat 15:00 EDT   NW   89   113   42.1   1.1   8   312 Ext
Sat 13:30 EDT   NNW   83   104   43.8   4   9   280 Ext
Sat 13:00 EDT   NNW   83   102   42.4   2.9   9   267 Ext
Sat 12:30 EDT   N   83   96   41.5   2.3   9   259 Ext
Sat 12:00 EDT   N   85   107   40.3   2.8   10   251 Ext
Sat 12:39 EDT   N   80   98   42.4   2.9   9   245 Ext
Sat 11:30 EDT   N   85   100   38.5   4.1   12   221 Ext
Sat 11:00 EDT   N   87   104   37.7   4.6   13   217 Ext

[Zippy]

CFA Chief Officers Briefing to the SECC (State Co-ordination centre)  BEFORE the Fires.

http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=912602EB9936A98B

[rescue5271]

We can only hope that the change in weather that is now over Victoria is now in some why helping those on the fireground it loos as if they will have  sometime till it heats back up and before the return of the north winds...

[Bagyassfirey]

UPDATE: FEARS are growing that as many as 100 bodies are to be recovered from one tiny town obliterated by the Victorian bushfires.

Firefighters working at the scene of the Marysville fires believe that one in five of the village's 519 residents have perished, but authorities will not yet comment on this claim.

At leat 80 people remain missing in the bushfire battleground, where 181 deaths have already been confirmed.

:oops:

[Mike]

I found this an interesting article.

Victoria's bushfire tragedy and the lessons we didn't learn

[chook]

Excellent article - thanks

[bittenyakka]

good read

[jaff]

If anyone is interested a great book to read about the history of the relationship between fuel reduction and bushfires, is "The still-burning bush" by Stephen Pyne. Its a rather academic book but the historical insight is brilliant!

[bajdas]

Media release from www.ses.sa.gov.au

SA SES deploying staff to assist VIC SES
10 February 2009

The South Australian State Emergency Service (SES) is offering support to their Victorian counterparts as they work towards defending and rebuilding their state. Two specialist incident managers travelled to Melbourne overnight to relieve and support exhausted SES crews in Victoria.

SES Chief Officer Stuart Macleod says the SES often plays a key role in supporting other emergency service organisations, and there is a firm agreement in place between the SES in all states and territories that they assist and support each other in times of need.

"SES volunteers in Victoria have been assisting the Victorian fire agencies in staging areas across state, providing staging area managers, crew and lighting towers.

"As well as assisting in the fire operations, taskforces have been deployed to assist with loss and damage assessment, traffic management points and clearing trees from roadways.

"Volunteers have also assisted in relocations and have been supporting with the coordination of immediate relief arrangements as well as with community warnings and information, food delivery and fire support.

"The SES organisations throughout the country have a long history of helping each other. In 2007 the SA SES sent 140 staff and volunteers to assist with storms that ravaged NSW and have also sent support personal as part of SA Country Fire Service deployments to bushfires.

"The SA SES personnel will be based at the Victorian multi-agency centre in Melbourne where they will work with other emergency service personnel in an integrated emergency management centre.

"This deployment demonstrates how highly regarded SA SES volunteers and staff are within the SES family across Australia.

"The SES is one big family and we work together. If South Australia was faced with such a disaster I know our interstate colleagues would be right here with us, helping us protect and defend what is important to us."

[Ends]

For SES response in storms or floods telephone 132 500. If the matter is life threatening telephone 000
For further information on the services provided by the SES go to www.ses.sa.gov.au

For media enquiries telephone the SES Media Line on (08) 8211 6176

[adelaide_medic]

So Andrew has a operational deployment of SES crew occured yet? If so, how many have gone over and what are the requirements of these crews in terms of skills, experience etc?

Cheers

[Bagyassfirey]

looks like the weather theyw as keepin us home for is on its way next wednesday...

[BlackDog]

RFS crews from just nth of the Murray, and who have been working rotational shifts at Beechworth due to their proximity to home, have been told that no further shifts will be required after Wednesday night.

For the moment.......

Chook.

For farmers thare has always been a small element of "you come to my fires, and I'll go to yours". It's a part of doing business in a small rural community. Of course, most of the people at risk are your extended family, neighbours, business connections, sporting connections, hunting mates...... That's part of living in a small rural community.

The typical response to "Thanks for coming" is "Well you'd do the same for me."

Dog.

[rescue5271]

So what are some things that your brigade or group or community  is doing to help those in Victoria apart from sending crew's?? My wife and her girlfriend have a appeal going on here in Naracoorte they are working out of the Naracoorte show ground and are taking donations of goods like clothing,beding,food,ETC they have had lots of air play over the radio and they have been able to secure a truck company that is willing to take all that they have over to Melbourne. Once In Melbourne it will be collected by another truck company and taken to a the head office of ST VINCENT DEPAUL who will hand out all that they get.... the good have all started rolling in which is great. Local farmers in the area are also sending over feed for stock.....Its great to see when the chips are down that people in other state's are more than willing to help....

[Bagyassfirey]

two B train loads of hay left yesterday for bendigo from around the area :-)

[Katrina]

About 10 semis of hay and fencing equipment left from Penola

[Alan (Big Al)]

Love some of the comments in the Advertiser this morning:
"I wish the Australian government would spend some real money on firefighting aircraft then these fires wouldn't happen"
"If they got some of those super scoopers they would have made all the differnece"

*Shakes head*

[Zippy]

We would be Deeper in Drought, thanks to non-useful use of water...

[Bagyassfirey]

Euan should get on front foot and come out n say no amount of resources could stop that. simple fact people need to know and be clear in the bushfire action plan. dont expect a CFS truck to come up the driveway to defend ur property

[Zippy]

he has, time and time again. it takes tragedy close to someone for people to wake up unfortunately.

[bajdas]

So Andrew has a operational deployment of SES crew occured yet? If so, how many have gone over and what are the requirements of these crews in terms of skills, experience etc?

Cheers

Unknown by myself. I am only a basic SES volunteer. Only information I have is the press release posted previously.

I can make some assumptions (search, shoring, securing building materials, staging camp support, road blocks, incident mgmt (AIIMS), etc, etc). Same type of work SES do with CFS.

With the defence forces now deployed in Victoria to assist in recovery, unknown if a large contingent of volunteers will be required.