Pip Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 bush fires are ripping though Victoria here in Australia and 65 people have been killed by them... not to mention the amount of people who have lost their homes and everything they own. it is just heartbreaking. Hope any forumites down there are ok... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eternal light Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 I hope you are far away from the flames. You should have an evacuation plan if you are within a few miles and keep an eye on the news reports. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pip Posted February 8, 2009 Author Share Posted February 8, 2009 I hope you are far away from the flames. You should have an evacuation plan if you are within a few miles and keep an eye on the news reports. I live in the desert so I am pretty 'safe'. But I know a few people down there (a friend of mine is pregnant and about to pop - but she has contacted us and is ok) up north there are floods too! it is just madness... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reggie29 Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 The toll has risen to 84 dead and 700 homes destroyed. http://ninemsn.com.au/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninelives Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 I heard this on the news. My thoughts are with everyone there to be safe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ally Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 I've been watching this tragedy as it's unfolded and hope that all of our friends in OZ are out of the danger zone. Let's all hope that the winds and the heat die down enough to gain some control of this monster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperDave Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 This seams to happen every few years in Australia. I recally just a few years ago, with a lot of brush fires in the Sydney area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pip Posted February 9, 2009 Author Share Posted February 9, 2009 It is up over 100 deaths now.. mind boggling isn't it? And people are actually starting these fires!! It is mass murder... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redrum Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 It is up over 100 deaths now.. mind boggling isn't it? And people are actually starting these fires!! It is mass murder... I know a girl in Victoria but she is ok. She said they caught one of the bastards that set the fire. Hang him high!! 171 dead so far that I've seen on the news. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zepyep Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 Hi all, There are many reports that is was not because of the heat wave that struck the continent.Many of these fires were set,.... And the death toll and homes lost is higher than the original post. KB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dzldoc Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 Hi all, There are many reports that is was not because of the heat wave that struck the continent.Many of these fires were set,.... And the death toll and homes lost is higher than the original post. KB It's horrendous! I've heard many were found in their automobiles trying to flee. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eternal light Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 The death toll is reported to have risen to 173. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ledzep4life Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 Yeah it's pretty tragic. I live in a pretty similar type of area here south of perth. I spent 5 hours or so today clearing the firebreaks and getting rid of dead branches etc. My brother told me he saw a report on how there was a completely bush fire ready brick house with sprinklers on the roof and fire hoses for use. Apparently many of the neighbours went there to sit through it because they thought it was safe. They found nine bodies inside the burnt remains of the house It certainly puts things into perspective really. We'd always planned to stay and fight the flames to protect the house and we don't have nearly as good fire protection as that. Think our plans have changed after this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eternal light Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 Bushfire Hotline - 1800 240 667 Victorian Bushfire Fund - 1800 811 700 Concerned about family or friends? 1800 727 077 http://www.theage.com.au/national/forest-s...2d7.html?page=1 Urgent threats February 8, 2009 Latest information from the Department of Sustainability and Environment and the Country Fire Authority http://www.theage.com.au/national/urgent-t...90208-80k1.html How to survive an Australian bush fire SYDNEY, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Many people survived Australia's deadliest bushfires at the weekend because they did what others would have thought insane: standing their ground and not fleeing. Kevin Tolhurst, a "fire-behaviour specialist" who helped authorities track the infernos, said the golden rule of surviving forest fires -- evacuate early or fight to the bitter end -- still stood, despite the weekend's record death toll of 126. The University of Melbourne expert, who has studied bushfires at close quarters for 20 years, said many victims appear to have been ill prepared or to have fled at the worst time. He gave these guidelines on how to survive an inferno: UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU ARE UP AGAINST Australian forest fires are terrifying, partly because native eucalypt forests spew lots of embers. In the infernos north of Melbourne, flames reached up to 50 metres (yards), creating a life-threatening zone of up to 200 metres (roughly four times the flame height) ahead of the fire front. Here, people can suffocate as heat sears the lungs, rendering them unable to function. ESCAPE EARLY OR FIGHT TO THE END This is the golden rule of survival in Australia's fire-prone countryside, but Tolhurst suspects it is misunderstood. Those who do not flee early must have prepared their properties well for the battle and be brave enough to keep up the fight. This means hosing down roofs and stamping out embers, anything to prevent the house from igniting, even though it may seem hopeless. "Houses, just because of their mass, take a while to catch alight, but once they are alight they will burn with enormous intensity," Tolhurst said. "You really need to be defending yourself," he added, explaining that a house could survive if it was still in good shape by the time the fire-front raced through. PREPARE WELL There is no point defending a house against wild fires unless its perimeter has been cleared of flammable material, including trees, shrubs and garden beds. "You must have a safe area to work in so you can do some small-scale suppression and reduce the spot fires," Tolhurst said. Otherwise, you should evacuate while you still can. A car is a very bad place to be in a fire: "A car heats up too much. It's such a small volume of space." GOING UNDERGROUND IS NO GUARANTEE One man and his wife survived sheltering in a cellar, but Tolhurst said underground bunkers offered no assurance of survival, especially if they were beneath a burning house and could fill with searing heat and carbon-dioxide. SURVIVING THE HORRIFYING CLIMAX A fire-front can take 10-15 minutes to pass over a house, during which time you should stay away from windows where the heat radiation is most intense. Don't douse yourself and your clothes with water because you could suffer serious burns as the water close to your skin boils. Protect your lungs by breathing through a handkerchief. "The best thing is to move around and make sure embers are not coming under the door," Tolhurst said. THE EXPERT'S VERDICT "It's a bit hard unless you have actually experienced a bushfire. A lot of people stay and then see how scary it is and say 'there's no way I'm staying here' and then take off. We know from experience that the strategy of staying with your house, provided it is protected and well prepared, works well -- though nothing can give you a 100 percent guarantee." (Reporting by Mark Bendeich; Editing by David Fox) http://uk.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUKSYD72081 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ledzep4life Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 The part about don't douse yourself in water sounds accurate but i saw on the news that an old man had stayed to try save his house but he couldnt save it so he just sat about 10 metres in front of the house with the hosepipe constantly drenching him in water and he survived, even though there was nothing left of his house. He watched it go up in smoke Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eternal light Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 www.redcross.org.au Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ledzep4life Posted February 11, 2009 Share Posted February 11, 2009 www.redcross.org.au i was watching the bushfire appeal cricket match and 31 million dollars has already been raised Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slave to zep Posted February 11, 2009 Share Posted February 11, 2009 latest count of donations is 49.6 million dollars. wow....... the pic of the firman and the koala that has gone around the world can be bought from the newspaper for $20 which will be donated also. just saw an interview with the said fireman, and he says "sam" the koala is being cared for and doing well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ledzep4life Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 I just can't believe people just go out and start fires for fun in these sort of conditions. If they find the guy(s)/girl(s) that did this i seriously think it should be the death penalty. Thats the only way to get a message through to those sick bastards. about a year ago we had a bunch of people light 5 fires in different suburbs where i live. They burnt through houses near me and it got pretty close at one stage to consider leaving or fighting, we were just lucky the wind was blowing in a different direction. Theres also been someone setting fire to kings park in perth repeatedly and they havent found out who it is yet. It's great to see how much people are donating to this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~tangerine~ Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 This is very sad and outrageous. I hope the situation is under control soon. It's a long shot, but i hope at least some of the people responsible are caught. I saw a story last night on AC360 where a firefighter was giving a Koala bear some drinking water. It's so sad and scary for the people, but my heart also goes out to all the endangered wildlife, too. In a county about 50 miles from where i live (the place is called Coatesville, PA) there have been over 30 cases of arson in the past year, burning residents out of their homes. People are f*cking crazy...i hope all this madness ends soon. My prayers go out to all the Australians effected by this tragedy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reggie29 Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 Two arrested for Arson. http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/750345...hill-fire-nixon On another note, the silence from the Greenies is deafening. Considering the green controlled council disallowed residents from clearing an exclusion zone around their homes and banned controlled burning. Their argument was that it would endanger wildlife and their habitat. Well they didn't just endanger it they ensured the animals were burnt and perished along with their ecosystem. There is talk of a class action against the council after the results of the Royal Commission have been released. Should be interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel With A Broken Wing Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 This is very sad and outrageous. I hope the situation is under control soon. It's a long shot, but i hope at least some of the people responsible are caught. I saw a story last night on AC360 where a firefighter was giving a Koala bear some drinking water. It's so sad and scary for the people, but my heart also goes out to all the endangered wildlife, too. My prayers go out to all the Australians effected by this tragedy. I feel the same way, it's so devastating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reggie29 Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 Telethon and concert for the bushfire victims. http://ne.ws.ninemsn.com.au/livestreaming.aspx?id=751258 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pb Derigable Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 Bush Fires kill 65+ people. This Bush bashing has to stop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pip Posted February 16, 2009 Author Share Posted February 16, 2009 Bush Fires kill 65+ people. This Bush bashing has to stop. Is that bad taste or am I missing something? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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