Let’s not forget fuel?

Let’s not forget fuel?

Most firefighters will recognise the image (above), it is used in text books and in classrooms to teach the very basics of firefighting, you need all three sides of there fire triangle for fire to occur. We cannot control the heat of any given day, we cannot control how much oxygen is in the air but we can control many types of fuel loads.

Given that the fire triangle is such a simple and basic concept then why is the “F” word (Fuel) omitted from many news articles, papers and other references to the worsening bushfire threats to our communities. See the news examples in this post…

Blazing row over bushfires

This newspaper article raises a number of complex issues including:

1. Do we have sufficient number of rangers for day to day operations and proper land management of our national parks?
2. If park rangers deserve an increased rate of pay, should it be built into their base pay rate? They should not have to rely on firefighting operations to supplement their income.
3. Is it appropriate to pay firefighters an excessive rate of pay over and above their normal rate during firefighting operations?
4. Remembering that volunteer firefighters (particularly those who are self employed) can often find themselves fighting fires at personal cost. Is it appropriate to pay other firefighters who are working alongside them an excessive rate of pay?

These issues could be mitigated if proper land management practices and increased burning regimes were adopted.

Spend more money on mitigation and less on mayhem…

Who is to blame?

Is it the power company’s fault?

Is it the land managers fault for not reducing the fuel near the powerlines?

Is it the councils fault for not allowing sufficient fuel reduction?

Is it the Green’s fault for influencing the publics perception of bushfire mitigation?

What about lightening strikes, should we sue God for fires that are started by lightening? or

Is it time that we had a good hard look at ourselves and our environment and we get back to sound land management practices that include fuel reduction (quality burns)?

What would nature do if we weren’t here?

What would nature do if we weren’t here?

“Hotter temperatures, reduced rainfall in key seasons and worse fire weather, are all consistent with what is projected with climate change, particularly under a high-emission scenario,” said Michael Grose from the CSIRO.

David Bowman from the University of Tasmania said. “If there was something simple that could be done, it would be done.”

Indigenous Australians managed the land without bulldozers, large aircraft and huge budgets.

In terms of bush firefighting, a wise man once said “The only fires that humans can put out are the ones doing some good”.

The Noisy Scrub-bird (Atrichornis clamosus)

The Noisy Scrub-bird (Atrichornis clamosus)

An interesting letter from a former employee of the Department of Conservation and Land Management in WA (now Department of Parks and Wildlife).
His story concerns a fire in the nature reserve at Mount Manypeaks, located about thirty kilometres east of Albany on the WA south coast. This is considered one of the State’s most important reserves, being home to the Noisy Scrub-bird (Atrichornis clamosus), one of our most endangered species. The Noisy Scrub-bird (NSB) was for many years considered extinct, but then a small remnant population was located at Two People’s Bay nature reserve in the 1960s. From here, birds have been successfully translocated to several suitable locations, including Mt Manypeaks, and this in time became the principal population of the species. Since they were originally rediscovered within bushland that had been long-unburnt, wildlife scientists concluded that the bird (which is ground-dwelling) would only survive if fire was permanently excluded from its habitat.
Fire exclusion thus became the policy for all reserves in which the noisy scrub-bird occurred.

Is Social Media the problem or Lack of Respect?

The NSW Rural Fire Service published a reviewed Service Standard that relates to the use of Social Media on 23 November 2015.
The Social Media Service Standard states that members must not post information on social media which could:
a. be misleading or deceptive;
b. result in bullying, victimisation or harassment;
c. lead to criminal penalty or civil liability;
d. divulge confidential or sensitive information;
e. reasonably be found to be vexatious, offensive, obscene, threatening, abusive, defamatory or culturally insensitive; or
f. be interpreted to be of a commercial or political nature.

Sadly, there are plenty of cases where bullying and inappropriate comments have been made on social media and other electronic media platforms.

Water bombers a waste of money for preventing catastrophic bushfires says veteran fire researcher

A retired general manager of the former Department of Conservation and Land Management has questioned the effectiveness of water bombers in fighting large-scale fires such as those in Western Australia this bushfire season.
People are looking for a technological fix to what is basically a problem of land management.

Water Bombing and Magic Bullets

Water Bombing and Magic Bullets

The most fundamental tool of the bushfire manager is not the fire tanker, the bulldozer, or even the water bomber. It is the match. The only way to minimise fire intensity and damage is by reducing the amount of fuel before a fire starts. Military people refer to this approach as the pre-emptive strike … we call it fuel reduction.

If press releases and photo ops could put out fires, no bush town would ever again need to fear the flames of summer. The sad and simple fact, however, is that they achieve little at enormous cost. Is it any wonder empire-building bureaucrats love them so?

Barry Aitchison OAM – Well Deserved

Barry Aitchison OAM – Well Deserved

Barry Aitchison was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the general division as recognition for his service to the community of the Monaro.
Barry is well known and a highly respected former Fire Control Officer, Operations Officer and Firefighter who represented the Snowy River, Bombala and Cooma Monaro Fire Districts for well over 30 years.
Those who know Barry will be very pleased that this OAM has been awarded to most deserving bushman with a passion for the locals, the bush and its’ future.

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