163 replies to this topic

[GML-31]

how cruel... all that water up nth qld and this at the other end... I hope all from here are ok

[mr5000]

just spotted my girlfriends little brother and sister on the news at whittlesea refuge center

[rodomo]

Ex wifes auntie was on 10 news earlier from Marysville.

A mate's bro hasn't been heard of since yesterday in King Lake.

They survived the first front but he hasn't heard from him since the wind turned.

[rodomo]

A work mate of mine lost his shed in Kinglake as the fire went over the top of his house with him and his family in it.

Is your mate's name Vic?

[lcgtr1970]

i live in wagga and although we dont have any fires, it is very smokey here. coming in the air con vents and is very hazy outside. guess this is all blowing up from vic.
all the best to everyone down there. stay safe.

[MRLXSS]

Hey guys,

Just thought i would put up a post and thank everyone who was concerned about me yesterday. Means a lot to know that you have so many good friends who think of you. I was safe in Belgrave, there was a Scrub fire in Upper Ferntree Gully that cut Belgrave off from civilization for a few hours. And the damage from that can be seen if you drive along Burwood Highway, as the flames came right up to the roads edge...

My heart goes out to all the ones who have lost loved ones and houses. I think at this point in time, there has been 76 confirmed dead, and that will no doubt go higher... Its such a terrible tragedy.

The weather scared the shit out of me yesterday, I went up to Maddy's place up in Emerald, and the smoke from all the fires in the Bunyip forest was very thick up there and the sun had that eery red/orange tinge to everything.

I have come to the conclusion, that if a fire like that was coming, i would just jump in the Torana and go... You can't fight that... No way in hell! I had always said i would stay and fight... but after some of the footage i have seen... You would have no hope against that.

Anyway, my thoughts go out to anyone effected by this terrible tragedy. I would like to thank all the volunteer firefighters who risk everything to help save lives and houses!

Cheers,

Matt

[MRLXSS]

merge this with another thread... sorry should have looked first

[Tiny]

THank goodness there are some good news stories emerging amongst all the devastation.

Once again our thoughts and prayers go out to those who have already lost loved ones and property, and those who are in the line of danger that still exists.

I hope that the Weather turns and helps the CFA and all the other crews get a handle on this before any more people perish.

Once again our thoughts and Prayers for the crisis to end.

[micklx]

I have come to the conclusion, that if a fire like that was coming, i would just jump in the Torana and go... You can't fight that... No way in hell! I had always said i would stay and fight... but after some of the footage i have seen... You would have no hope against that.

I think if strong wind is blowing the fire toward you, you probably should go, but if its not coming directly toward you, you should hang around and protect your home from spot fires caused by flying embers. I have spoken to a few people today who put out spot fires yesterday, one lost their garage which had their car in it, one had their garden all burnt and the other had paddocks burning all around them. But all these fires were caused by embers, not the fire front. I wouldn't have wanted to stay and fight in Marysville yesterday thats for sure.

[Tiny]

It really kills me to see the sort od devastation and loss of life that's occuring....

Please pardon me, but i have something i want to get off my chest, and it's not aimed at anyone in particular...

I own a block of land (Just vacant land) in a bushfire prone area. If i were to build a dwelling there i would have to compelte a bushfire plan as part of my council D.A.
Having done that satisfactorily i would then be granted permission tob uild or extend my house.

My bushfire plan would consist of natural and passive features to help "fireproof" the house of which alot of people already know and use, but i would also have an active firefighting system around the house.
This would consist of a STEEL piped sprinkler system that would be built in to all the eaves, gutter flooding systems, the garden areas around the house and over the ridge of the roofline to create a strong mist that would douse an embers, or even cool a direct fire threat somewhat. Roller window shutters would help complete this system.
The system would be fed by a masive concrete water tank (that would be built in as part of the house design - actually the tank would be integral to my house design but that's a whole other discussion). A Diesel Fire pump and Generator would be activated to trigger this system. I would like to ensure that a MINIMUM of 1 Hours water and fuel supply be on hand at all times for this system.

I would also endeavour to have the system remote startable by phone so that if you were not able to be there... you could ring in and possibly save your house.

The local fire brigade would be aware of starting procedures and all systems use.

I cant see a system of this nature costing a cent more than $10,000 if installed when building or upgrading a house. Why are things like this not already in use for homes and other buildings in bishfire prone areas? It could lead to having a safe haven for people to survive such a horrific eposide as what we've seen today and of course the possiblity of saving property too.

Please... let me know if my thoughts are crazy, I'm sure i saw something similar on a show like Beyond 2000 many years ago. Why arent things like this made compulsory like smoke detectors, rainwater tanks and green tratings of homes?

Sorry Guys.. i had to vent.. i feel so bad at the loos of life i'm reading and hearing out. 84 people at current count as i just heard on the news.

[Redslur]

After having bush fires lap our surroundings in 2003, I really know how these people feel. God bless all involved!

[Mort]

To be honest i haven't been watching the fires on the news, i get enough info from this thread, no disrespect to those of you affected it's just i feel helpless up here.

I was visiting Tracies Grandparents and Uncles (they live in Portland and Lithgow,NSW) many years ago when the bushfires were around Blackheath and other areas in NSW and that was very scary. We traveled through the Wolami National Forest on the way home after the fires had gone through and the devastation was unbelievable

I am not familiar with the areas they are talking about or where most of you live but my heart goes out to all those that are threatened or affected by this tragedy and hope that you all pull through unscathed.

For those that aren't around the bushfires but have friends and relies there, may no news be good news.

My thoughts and prayers are with you all.


Mort

[bluea9x]

Well said gerry god bless hope they catch the low life dogs

[Rockoz]

Tiny.
During the fires in the Blue Mountains in 1994, one of the places I looked after had a great system. He was in the middle of the bush, but had not clear felled his land. He had removed trees for building, and cleaned up scrub, but he was part of the bush.
When we turned up he had a petrol pump running from his swimming pool supplying cyclone sprinklers throughout his yard. He had a generator running another pump that fed sprinklers on his roof. The runoff from his roof went back into his water tank. He had 2 tanks. One at the house and another on his shed linked to the house.
He had inbuilt redundancy in the system.
We topped up his fuel and stayed on watch until the firefront passed.
His system wasnt expensive.
His house was easily looked after.
Not like some.

[WhiteA9XS]

i know someone who lost there house yesterday , he had all the above fire sprinklers working on his roof , blocked the gutters etc , made no difference . he said it was like a huge fireball dropping onto his house , he is one lucky boy to escape injury !

my heart goes out to all victoms .

[orangeLJ]

You can have all the protection in the world, but when a fire is moving as quick and is as large as the ones that swept through these towns, nothing would have saved the houses.

It seems alot of people died trying to outrun the fires and being caught in there cars, a few in car accidents when they couldnt see other cars through the smoke.

Its all well and good to be prepared, but yeah, no amount of sprinklers would have stopped this fire (from what Ive been told through RFS guys who have mates in the CFA and seen on TV)

The peoples accounts they had on the radio thismorning almost had me in tears on the way to work, One lady commented on how they had their cattle and family in the midle of a big plowed paddock, and a bloke came running from the direction of the fire with his 3 year old daughter, both badly burnt.

the bloke had just lost his 2 other children and his wife.

Apart from the human casualty, what about all the livestock, family pets that were locked in houses, wildlife etc etc.

Its a massive tragedy from all angles.