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Aussie's Report
- Thread starter DickT
- Start date
This news story is just unfathomable, poor bloke.
CFA volunteer dies in house fire after batttling the Victorian bushfires for a week..
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,25044256-421,00.html
CFA volunteer dies in house fire after batttling the Victorian bushfires for a week..
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,25044256-421,00.html
Police arrest two over Vic bushfires
February 12, 2009, 1:38 pm
Police have arrested two people in over Victoria's deadly bushfires following reports of suspicious behaviour near some of the worst devastation.
"The investigation is in its initial stages, two people are assisting police with inquiries," Victoria Police said in a statement.
Police say they responded to reports of suspicious behaviour between Seymour and Yea.
Fires in East Kilmore, between Yea and Seymour, started on Saturday and merged with the Yea-Murrindindi fire creating the massive Kinglake Complex fire.
This fire has burnt almost 230,000 hectares, destroyed 550 homes and killed at least 147 people in a wide area from Wandong, north of Melbourne , to Marysville and Taggerty.
The worst hit towns were Kinglake, Strathewen, St Andrews and Marysville.
Outgoing Victorian Police Chief Commissioner Christine Nixon said police were continuing to investigate whether arsonists caused more of the devastating bushfires that have so far claimed a total of 181 lives.
She said police now believed the Churchill fire, which claimed 21 lives, and the Marysville fire, where 15 people died, were deliberately lit.
"We're sure that the fire in Churchill ... was deliberately lit and we have now been given some information that makes us suspicious about the Marysville fire," she said on the Nine Network on Thursday.
"It's a matter of other fires that we're looking at as well. We're trying to get there as quickly as we can."
She said police had a large team gathering clues in the hunt for any arsonists behind any fires.
"We're very focused on this issue," Ms Nixon said.
"We're asking again the community to come forward, anybody who is suspicious, who has concerns."
Victoria's police announced on Tuesday it was setting up taskforce Phoenix to investigate all fire-related deaths from the bushfires.
Phoenix is bringing in 100 police to investigate the deaths and they are confident of making arrests.
Police had already spoken to some suspects over the deadly Victorian bushfires, Ms Nixon said.
"We're obviously working very hard on that investigation and we've spoken to a number of suspects so far, but it's still an ongoing investigation," she told the Seven Network on Thursday.
"We'll get there, but it is a matter of piecing together all of the evidence and getting information from the various groups so that we can add that to our current investigation."
The bushfires death toll stands at 181, with the final number expected be much higher. It's feared as many as 100 people may have been killed in Marysville alone.
Ms Nixon said police were prepared to lay a charge of murder by arson - with a 25-year jail penalty - against anyone believed to have caused one of the fatal bushfires.
She added that police had received reports that more fires had been deliberately lit since Saturday.
"We certainly have had reports of other fires being lit," Ms Nixon said.
"You and I would just be staggered by that, but that's what we're certainly seeing. We've been investigating those as well."
South Australian Premier Mike Rann's idea of putting convicted or suspected arsonists under surveillance during high fire risk periods sounded like a "reasonable strategy", she said.
February 12, 2009, 1:38 pm
Police have arrested two people in over Victoria's deadly bushfires following reports of suspicious behaviour near some of the worst devastation.
"The investigation is in its initial stages, two people are assisting police with inquiries," Victoria Police said in a statement.
Police say they responded to reports of suspicious behaviour between Seymour and Yea.
Fires in East Kilmore, between Yea and Seymour, started on Saturday and merged with the Yea-Murrindindi fire creating the massive Kinglake Complex fire.
This fire has burnt almost 230,000 hectares, destroyed 550 homes and killed at least 147 people in a wide area from Wandong, north of Melbourne , to Marysville and Taggerty.
The worst hit towns were Kinglake, Strathewen, St Andrews and Marysville.
Outgoing Victorian Police Chief Commissioner Christine Nixon said police were continuing to investigate whether arsonists caused more of the devastating bushfires that have so far claimed a total of 181 lives.
She said police now believed the Churchill fire, which claimed 21 lives, and the Marysville fire, where 15 people died, were deliberately lit.
"We're sure that the fire in Churchill ... was deliberately lit and we have now been given some information that makes us suspicious about the Marysville fire," she said on the Nine Network on Thursday.
"It's a matter of other fires that we're looking at as well. We're trying to get there as quickly as we can."
She said police had a large team gathering clues in the hunt for any arsonists behind any fires.
"We're very focused on this issue," Ms Nixon said.
"We're asking again the community to come forward, anybody who is suspicious, who has concerns."
Victoria's police announced on Tuesday it was setting up taskforce Phoenix to investigate all fire-related deaths from the bushfires.
Phoenix is bringing in 100 police to investigate the deaths and they are confident of making arrests.
Police had already spoken to some suspects over the deadly Victorian bushfires, Ms Nixon said.
"We're obviously working very hard on that investigation and we've spoken to a number of suspects so far, but it's still an ongoing investigation," she told the Seven Network on Thursday.
"We'll get there, but it is a matter of piecing together all of the evidence and getting information from the various groups so that we can add that to our current investigation."
The bushfires death toll stands at 181, with the final number expected be much higher. It's feared as many as 100 people may have been killed in Marysville alone.
Ms Nixon said police were prepared to lay a charge of murder by arson - with a 25-year jail penalty - against anyone believed to have caused one of the fatal bushfires.
She added that police had received reports that more fires had been deliberately lit since Saturday.
"We certainly have had reports of other fires being lit," Ms Nixon said.
"You and I would just be staggered by that, but that's what we're certainly seeing. We've been investigating those as well."
South Australian Premier Mike Rann's idea of putting convicted or suspected arsonists under surveillance during high fire risk periods sounded like a "reasonable strategy", she said.
Australia's consul general in New York, John Olsen, is holding a fundraiser at upscale Manhattan bar and restaurant, The Australian, on Saturday night (New York time) where guests will feast on mini meat pies, sausage rolls and wedges.
Cases of Victoria Bitter, Boags, Tooheys, Coopers, bottles of Australian wine and Tim Tams will be raffled off and an impressive list of entertainers will perform.
The $US20 cover charge will go directly to the Red Cross and The Australian will donate $US2 from every drink purchased.
In Los Angeles, also on Saturday evening (Los Angeles time), a fundraiser will be held at The Blue Goose Lounge on Sunset Boulevard.
The event, organised by non-profit social group Australians in Los Angeles, will feature "surprise" performances.
Entry is free, but attendees will be asked to make a donation to the Australian Red Cross Bushfire Appeal.
Cases of Victoria Bitter, Boags, Tooheys, Coopers, bottles of Australian wine and Tim Tams will be raffled off and an impressive list of entertainers will perform.
The $US20 cover charge will go directly to the Red Cross and The Australian will donate $US2 from every drink purchased.
In Los Angeles, also on Saturday evening (Los Angeles time), a fundraiser will be held at The Blue Goose Lounge on Sunset Boulevard.
The event, organised by non-profit social group Australians in Los Angeles, will feature "surprise" performances.
Entry is free, but attendees will be asked to make a donation to the Australian Red Cross Bushfire Appeal.
POLICE investigating the Victoria fires have cleared two men of any wrongdoing, as officers confirmed a serial arsonist was being investigated over the Gippsland blaze which killed 21 people.
You know Bent i don't doubt for a second any officers intention to catch those supposedly responsible for any of the blazes, BUT- How the fudge can you tell when a fire IS deliberatly lit?
For centuries natives here started fires to clear ground and herd animals into a spot where they could catch then eat them, natural causes of fire were all too frequent as well (lightning, natural composting). Farmers also did this for years to protect themselves from the threat of fire.
Then tree hugging hippies came along and stopped most of the forest burning, to save animals and the forest. Bloody asshats should be held accountable just as much as the arsonists, (which i believe there are much less of then being talked about by the media now, they always look for something/someone easy to blame).
Can anyone say BLOODY GREENIES? "Furtilize the bush-bury a greenie.
Rant over..
For centuries natives here started fires to clear ground and herd animals into a spot where they could catch then eat them, natural causes of fire were all too frequent as well (lightning, natural composting). Farmers also did this for years to protect themselves from the threat of fire.
Then tree hugging hippies came along and stopped most of the forest burning, to save animals and the forest. Bloody asshats should be held accountable just as much as the arsonists, (which i believe there are much less of then being talked about by the media now, they always look for something/someone easy to blame).
Can anyone say BLOODY GREENIES? "Furtilize the bush-bury a greenie.
Rant over..
I know what you're saying Nova, I suppose when people ate the animals or the animals had somewhere else to go, but with the urban sprawl unless its very controlled & well managed burning it's just going to wipe out entire populations.
I'm sure there's going to be a lot come out of the final investigation...including why the power poles were left to rot (the cause of at least one fire) & why the funding was cut to keeping the fire roads clear through the bushland...so that fire crews were disastrously delayed getting to where they needed to be while they chainsawed their way through. I suppose it all comes down to economics again...someone says we havent had a fire out there so why spend X thousand dollars a year keeping it clear when that could be used to build a new school.
Will be some hard truths at the end of this.
I'm sure there's going to be a lot come out of the final investigation...including why the power poles were left to rot (the cause of at least one fire) & why the funding was cut to keeping the fire roads clear through the bushland...so that fire crews were disastrously delayed getting to where they needed to be while they chainsawed their way through. I suppose it all comes down to economics again...someone says we havent had a fire out there so why spend X thousand dollars a year keeping it clear when that could be used to build a new school.
Will be some hard truths at the end of this.
Not wrong there Bent you know what though, the people that are largely to blame will get off scottfree whlist they find some stupid scapegoat.
I was watching the news earlier and heard of the early warning scheme that had been signed off on AND NOT IMPLEMENTED, telstra was able to provide the service but our dumbass fat lazy "leaders" did nothing whilst getting paid very good money to do SOMETHING!
Christ this irks me, i wish i could get the old Australia back.
I was watching the news earlier and heard of the early warning scheme that had been signed off on AND NOT IMPLEMENTED, telstra was able to provide the service but our dumbass fat lazy "leaders" did nothing whilst getting paid very good money to do SOMETHING!
Christ this irks me, i wish i could get the old Australia back.
Novacastrian said:
I'd bet (having dealt with Tel$tra many times) that theres a large kickback involved & that everyone will have to be on Tel$tra network to get the warning.
Why cant they just fly a helicopter overhead with a siren?
Novacastrian said:
Remember when there was a church on the prominent hill that would ring it's bells when there was trouble so everyone could hear....o.k neither do I, but the theory has been around for a very long time.
I bet if instead of every household paying Tel$tra $30/month they could pool the money & set up concrete towers with sirens on them all over the place. Different sounds for different levels of warning, test it once a month when everyone knows its a test. It could be activated remotely. Limited impact to the environment & if they're built right they'll last 100 years or more.
Novacastrian said:
Yeah imagine that...kids would grow up learning what the sirens mean....and telstra wouldn't spend 20 mill a year on lobbyists.
At the other end of the east coast
Ernie {pictured below} Suggest everyone keep their front gate shut unless they want crocs in their yard.
Apparently he's speaking from a very recent experience.
Its raining up there again Ingham says the water has drained enough for them to cope but Birdsville is expecting to go under very soon. Many small towns are expected to be cut off for at least another 3 weeks.
I'd hate to think the weather is going screwy ...dont mean this thread to be about *that* ... I'm just ruminating
A railway crew was doing repairs to a bridge at Ingham, one of the blokes had a dog with him. It got taken by a croc, couldn't find out any more details through the various reporting systems at work though.
Novacastrian said:
Why waste a bullet, Dress them up in wool suit and tie them to a pole. Gather up family members who have lost a loved one and give them each a glass of gasoline. After they walk past the guilty party and spit in their face, they throw the gasoline on their pants, just to make sure its a slow burn. Then light the match.
bentalphanerd said:
you're telling me you guys dont have sirens ? I'm surprised!
I thought that was common amongst 1st world countries.
we have sirens that warn of tornados or any kind of attack (if needed) & they test them once a month basically once winter is over. & can be heard for couple miles. they're placed all over the state (in cities, small or large) back in the olden days we had fire towers that people stayed in them to watch for fires, that was their job! times change & technology. though they still stand (towers)
sounds like theres gonna be a major change in laws dealing with hazzards for you aussies.