R i p

[andym]

I am putting this up as a sign of respect and public acknowledgement of the grave loss of live in the Victorian Bush Fires. The death toll will be over 200 and these fires were started on purpose by some very sick individuals. This is by far nothing short of tragic meaningless loss of lives. It may be in Australia but I think people all over the world will be affected from the loss

[Steven Vaccaro]

I'm sorry to ear about the tragic loss of life. Is it true that these are terrorist attacks?

[andym]

Arsonist, Steve some sick little *!***!***!***!**er with a box of matches, middle of summer 45+ deg celcius and 50 mph winds these poor souls could do nothing. I suppose you could call tham terrorist's but at least terrorist's have a cause even if it is delusional. These sick *!***!***!***!**ers do it for a laugh.

[Steven Vaccaro]

There is a US radio talk show host saying that terrorists are now teaching to light brush fires. Here is a link http://mosquewatch.blogspot.com/2009...ire-jihad.html

[Doby]

Arsonist, Steve some sick little *!***!***!***!**er with a box of matches, middle of summer 45+ deg celcius and 50 mph winds these poor souls could do nothing. I suppose you could call tham terrorist's but at least terrorist's have a cause even if it is delusional. These sick *!***!***!***!**ers do it for a laugh.

So what happens if they catch these morons????

Set them on fire in public display as a warning to others who might have the same ideas.

[Ub Hauled]

Were they found Andy?

[Xzessperated]

Successive governments and fire authorities have been telling the Australian public for years that the safest place in a bush fire is in your home. I would suggest that the safest place in a fire is as far away from the fire as you can get.
Fighting fires is for professional men/women or men/women with some training and even some of them give up their lives.
For years untrained home owners have been encouraged to stay and try to save their houses just to save insurance companies money. Now the inevitable has happened and more than 200 have lost their lives.
There will be an inquiry into these deaths but I guess as usual the main aim of the inquiry will be to wash the souls of politicians and experts of all persuasions squeaky clean.
It really does no good to point the finger as this never brings back the dead but it can be hoped that some good can come out of it and a safer way of doing things can be found.
As Andy said may the dead RIP but at the same time may those in charge not rest too easy until a better way is found.

[Doby]

The finger pointing should be at the bastards that started the fire......they are the morons who killed the people.

Death is too good for them. Horrific, never ending pain would be a good start though.

Lets not forget the real cause of their deaths.

No morons=no fire=no dead people.

[Xzessperated]

The finger pointing should be at the bastards that started the fire......they are the morons who killed the people.

Death is too good for them. Horrific, never ending pain would be a good start though.

Lets not forget the real cause of their deaths.

No morons=no fire=no dead people.

Doby,
There is more than one fire and some of the fires were started by lightning
I agree about the arsonist. He should be treated the same as any murderer.

I will edit out the link below when it stops giving news about the fires.

http://au.yahoo.com/

The statement below was lifted from one of the News services....

"Healesville, about 50 kilometres (31 miles) northeast of Melbourne , was the latest community threatened by one of the 24 fires still burning, some of which are believed to have been deliberately lit."

[Flying Scotsman]

I think that folks in North America should understand, bush fires at this time of the year are very common in Australia..Yes, I know California has a similar problem but not even close as far as the severity on a yearly basis.
When some little arsonist twit starts a fire under these extreme conditions. I know what I would do to if I caught him or her...chuck them in the fire.

Douggie

[Xzessperated]

I think that folks in North America should understand, bush fires at this time of the year are very common in Australia..Yes, I know California has a similar problem but not even close as far as the severity on a yearly basis.
When some little arsonist twit starts a fire under these extreme conditions. I know what I would do to if I caught him or her...chuck them in the fire.

Douggie

Douggie I really can not comment on mainland arsonists but I would guess they have the same problem as we do here in Tasmania. At this time of year we have the school summer holidays. Christmas is gone and so has the parents money so we have a lot of bored kids roaming the streets and some getting into trouble. It is not a big percentage of the kids that get into trouble but boredom does not excuse antisocial behavior in my opinion. Some of the kids start fires. I think any kid over 8 should know that fires kill. If kids are caught they are punished the modern way and get their hand smacked, so to speak (not allowed to smack kids now). That type of kid laughs at modern punishment. I worked in a detention center for kids and I know what they think of the law. Having said all that, I am not saying that the person that lit some of the Victorian fires is a kid either. We all know that arsonists are often adults.
Every summer in my city there are fires started by kids in the bush that surrounds my city. Fortunately no one has been killed in any of those fires yet but it will happen. The modern thinking is we should not punish them too severely or it might scar them mentally for life. Bloody experts have a lot to answer for.

[egneg]

My condolences to the families of those that have perished. With all the advances in technology it's a crying shame that this type of thing still happens.

Chuck

[Simon.O.]

I have written to Andym about this too.
As a professional firefighter I know what that hot red stuff is like.
I can not begin to imagine the scale of the fires that have wiped out whole communities over there. The aerial photos that are in our papers depict a scene that only a nuclear bomb could achieve. I sh1t you not there is no way anyone would survive by staying inside there house. There was a very moving piece written by one of the survivors which bought tears to my eyes. I'll try and find an e-copy of it in a minute.
My concern is not so much anger at the arsonist(s) or the massive loss of life.
My feelings are for the ones left. I have seen many times the loss that fire can cause and would not wish that upon anyone, well almost anyone.

One thing to consider is that when these fires get a hold in those conditions with the natural vegetation of Oz is will escalate into a firestorm. You CAN NOT put those out. You run and let it go. You may possibly create a big enough fire break in front of it but usually these things will travel up to 30mph and sometimes faster.

As mentioned earlier some clown has told people to stay and defend your home, that may be fine if there is a small grass fire in the neighbours paddock. When you are living in a place that is that dry and surrounded by VERY flamable vegetation then I would be the first on out of there.

A house can be rebuilt,loved ones are not replaceabe.

That will do for todays ramblings.

[Flying Scotsman]

As Simon wisely stated. Our thoughts are with you all and yes there are greater concerns than what some wise ass twits did with my retirement funds

Douggie

[Xzessperated]

Thursday Feb 12

The official death toll is unchanged at 181 this morning but police now say as many as 300 people may have lost their lives.

Twelve bushfires are still burning across Victoria but authorities say conditions are improving, and fire crews worked through the night on building containment lines.

[NorthernBoater]

Here is some heartwarming story that has come out of this about some rescued Koalas. There is a video at the bottom of the article.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worl...bushfires.html

[Apples1]

Koala's are the least of anyone's problems right now, and are often Kulled in some parts in Victoria!

Let's keep our fingers crossed this week end as we try to deal with the fires still burning.

Sorry to be a downer , but this hits close to home. My parent were are about 25km from the main fire complex.

[J Solinger]

I've been watching this on the news. My heart goes out to you.

[Simon.O.]

. My parent were are about 25km from the main fire complex.

Were ?? Are?? I hope they are o.k John.
If the SES can not contain or create a break in the two big fires that apparently are about to converge then Victoria will have a problem. I know a little about the science of firestorms like these and I do want to see anymore people get hurt.
I have seen it before and do not want to see it again.
If your parents are near it, pull them out now. I mean it John.
These two fires may pass or they may converge. You can flip a coin and make a call. I would not.

PM sent too.

[Apples1]

they are fine and out of trouble, and it sounds like they managed to stop the fires combining, they most likely would been safe, they are surrounded by 80 acres of grass and only a dozen of cypress pines. thanks for your concern though.

[Apples1]

plus they got 55mm of rain last night and today

[Xzessperated]

The video in this clip gives us a sample of what it is like in a firestorm.

They are reporting 1800 homes destroyed. A big jump since the 750 they were telling us about yesterday. They have not released the final death toll as it will be sometime before they have searched all the burned houses.

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/video.asp...5-6afdb6dd75f4

[Ub Hauled]

I feel bad for all the people that are suffering because of this... I had fires in the mountains right behind me last year as well, but it looked like a match stick by comparison...

[Xzessperated]

I feel bad for all the people that are suffering because of this... I had fires in the mountains right behind me last year as well, but it looked like a match stick by comparison...

Jan it is not all doom and gloom as Doby pointed out. Destruction like this also brings out the best in people. The people here have all pulled together across the nation, and over $50 million has been raised by the public just in donations.
Farmers from all over the country are sending hay for the farm animals. One of our big national supermarkets donated today’s profits to the victims. Big and small businesses all over the country are making donations.
Our friends and neighbors around the world have helped in many ways and we thank you all for that. Firefighters here have often flown to help out in some of the bad Californian fires. That is a two way street as they also learn new things while they are helping out. Disasters build friendships between people and nations too.

[Xzessperated]

Update Feb 15 2009 6.20am

About a dozen bushfires continue to burn out of control in Victoria, but mild weather is expected to assist fire fighters.

As Victoria's bushfire emergency continues into its eighth day thousands of fire fighters, including some from interstate, New Zealand and the United States, will help efforts on Sunday.

Our thanks to the overseas firefighters.

[Xzessperated]

Update Wednesday Feb 18

Victoria's bushfire death toll now stands at 200, with 11 new deaths confirmed by police from the savage Kinglake Complex bushfires.
The toll at Marysville, which stands at 39, is expected to rise sharply as the search for the remains of missing people continues.
Meanwhile, firefighters say they are getting on top of the Victorian bushfires, with just six major blazes still burning out of control.
"It is getting quieter, yes. We have got six going fires. That is certainly a break from last week," said a Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) spokesman.
The number of firefighters tackling the blazes stood at 3,248, including those from interstate and overseas.
More than 1,800 homes are believed to have been destroyed by the bushfires.