A news roundup from across the country for the last week. The failure to distribute half of the bushfire appeal funds is the headline story.
News Roundup May 5
Bushfire Bunkers a Royal Commission Hot Potato
Craig Lapsley succeeded in getting formal safety standards for fire bunkers implemented in Victoria over a decade ago. In NSW the RFS remain ‘dead against them’ according to this informative Sydney Morning Herald article.
News Roundup April 28
A roundup of all the news around the regions …
AMTA Submission to the Royal Commission
Maintaing the integrity of our telecommunications infrastructure during bushfires is critical. It is therefore encouraging to see the telecommunications industry working together to document their experiences during this summers fires and present their findings to the Royal Commission.
FLIR K1 Situational Awareness Camera’s for 25 Brigades
There were some very creative reasons how Brigades might use their new FLIR K1 Situational Awareness Cameras.
Based upon the applications, the VFFA has selected 25 Brigades as recipients of the new FLIR K1 Situational Awareness Cameras.
The successful Brigades are….
Nightlife: Australia’s Pyrocene future
Were our recent bushfires the equivalent of an ice age? What does this mean for Australia and the rest of the world? Will the after-effects have a prolonged impact on our future?
Nightline’s Philip Clark in conversation with Stephen Pyne, Emeritus Professor at Arizona State University, specializing in environmental history, the history of exploration, and especially the history of fire. Also the author of Burning Bush: A Fire History of Australia.
Conjola Park photo wins 2nd Prize at World Press Photo Contest
Matthew Abbott’s photo of melted aluminium running in rivers from beneath a burnt out car at Lake Conjola won 2nd Prize in the World Press Photo Awards in the Spot News Stories category.
Bushfire Royal Commission Up and Running
The Royal Commission is up and running and you can find a link to the Opening and the complete transcrpt in this post.
We also review an excellent Sydney Mormning Herald article which quotes VFFA President Mick Holton.
Resilience
Early in 2019, Vic Jurskis warned on the Volunteer Fire Fighters Association website, that in the event of severe fire weather, all the bush from Bairnsdale to Sydney would be incinerated due to an unprecedented accumulation of three-dimensionally continuous fuel. In extreme weather, such fuel inevitably creates firestorms with long distance ember showers. Firebreaks, fire engines and waterbombers can’t stop them.
In this article, Vic shares his thoughts as the NSW Fire inquiry reviews 1000 submissions.
What saved Kurrajong Heights from the Gospers Mountain fire?
The Hawkesbury Gazette published a very good report on the presentation to the Kurrajong Heights Community made by VFFA Vice President Brian Williams and his brigade. The story contains links to the Gazette article and the Report to the Community