It’s been a spring of soaking rains and luscious lawns. There were rolling green paddocks and the dams were full – or even spilling, like in Chaffey’s case.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
But in just a week or two, the Australian hot summer is here in a blaze of glory.
The paddocks are drying out, dangerous fuel loads are everywhere and we’re already experiencing very high or extreme bushfire dangers.
Most of the region tried to beat the heat on the weekend, whether it was in the air-conditioning, the pools, the local dams, or staying out of the blistering heat with a fan.
But spare a thought for the local firefighters. The Rural Fire Service had dozens hit the fire ground – battling the mercury that topped 40 degrees or thereabouts in some places – to try and extinguish the flames that were sparked by lightning strikes.
With fuel loads as far as the eye can see at the moment, it’s concerning to hear reports that firefighters were told to leave a property where an RFS-commissioned helicopter and ground crews were battling to contain an out-of-control blaze on the weekend.
Under the Rural Fire Service Act, firefighters can take water from wherever they can source it during an emergency.
Police were called to the area at Moonbi and are investigating claims firefighters were allegedly threatened.
An emergency is “a serious, unexpected, and often dangerous situation requiring immediate action”. A rapid response team was deployed to the area to back up grounds crews because the threat was very real.
The law is there for a reason and firefighters were deployed to protect property and lives, and when people don’t comply with the rules, they face the consequences.
Whether it’s when they light up in a total fire ban, or a burn flares out-of-control and there is no permit. Or even when a driver flicks a cigarette butt out the window on a scorching hot, summer’s day where a total fire ban blankets the region.
Tamworth police tracked down one driver who tossed a burning cigarette out the window and slapped him with a $1320 fine.
Some might say it was too steep, but then how much does it cost to deploy the crew to fight the fire it might spark? Or the damage it might cause if it runs and takes hold of a nearby car or house?
This summer we must support our firefighters – the paid and the volunteer crews – the ones running into the danger as everyone else runs the other way.
