Message to everyone affected by the bushfires
Thread Starter
Hmmmmmm.........
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 3,564
Likes: 6
From: Melbourne, Australia
Stu,
I feel you mate and hope you are both holding up OK. I dread the next few weeks when the kids find out that people they know are the area through school and sport haven't survived. All my best to you and Danielle.
Cheers
Andrew
I feel you mate and hope you are both holding up OK. I dread the next few weeks when the kids find out that people they know are the area through school and sport haven't survived. All my best to you and Danielle.
Cheers
Andrew
Absolute tragedy!
I have lost 3 good friends to the King Lake fires and 2 families my family is close to are still missing including their young children. A very sad day. I am not a religious person but have found myself saying a few prayers over the last couple days!
Also looks like Danielle might have lost some of her work mates.
I have been doing what I can by delivering hot food donated by local food outlets in my area up to the rest/rally areas for CFA personal and also to the gathering points for all those that lost everything. Once among them you cannot help but be reduced to tears. To have someone that has just lost everything and that has burns to parts of their body tearfully thank you for bringing them a simple hot meal is a truly humbling experience indeed!
Danielle and myself are offering the spare bedrooms of our home to a displaced family from the fires. I cannot save my friends that lost their lives (and this really kills me) but maybe I can help their neighbors put their life back together. The amount left with nothing is staggering. Money, clothes, toys are starting to come their way now but after seeing and talking with a few a roof over their heads is desperately needed.
I urge any members on this side of town who have some space they can spare for a while to contact one of the hotlines & offer a roof for one of these families to sleep under. You can make a true difference to someone's life and give them that hand they surely need to start putting the pieces back together!
I have lost 3 good friends to the King Lake fires and 2 families my family is close to are still missing including their young children. A very sad day. I am not a religious person but have found myself saying a few prayers over the last couple days!
Also looks like Danielle might have lost some of her work mates.
I have been doing what I can by delivering hot food donated by local food outlets in my area up to the rest/rally areas for CFA personal and also to the gathering points for all those that lost everything. Once among them you cannot help but be reduced to tears. To have someone that has just lost everything and that has burns to parts of their body tearfully thank you for bringing them a simple hot meal is a truly humbling experience indeed!
Danielle and myself are offering the spare bedrooms of our home to a displaced family from the fires. I cannot save my friends that lost their lives (and this really kills me) but maybe I can help their neighbors put their life back together. The amount left with nothing is staggering. Money, clothes, toys are starting to come their way now but after seeing and talking with a few a roof over their heads is desperately needed.
I urge any members on this side of town who have some space they can spare for a while to contact one of the hotlines & offer a roof for one of these families to sleep under. You can make a true difference to someone's life and give them that hand they surely need to start putting the pieces back together!
Registered User
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 174
Likes: 0
From: Melbourne
Hey guys, the Euro Car Club has organised a fundraising event which will involve dinner and a photoshoot. They are asking for a $10 donation for your attendance (dinner extra - it's at a pizza place so nothing too dear) and if you want to purchase prints of your car, it will be an additional $15. Please follow the link if you are interested. All are welcome and they are a great bunch of guys.
http://forums.eurocca.net/showthread...598#post483598
http://forums.eurocca.net/showthread...598#post483598
Registered User
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 1,432
Likes: 0
From: Brisbane
Sorry mate, I wasn't as clear as I could have been. When I say "spontaneous" I meant not lit by a person. It goes back to my previous comment "It hasnt rained in something like 2-3 months in some of these areas so it wouldnt suprise me if a simple bottle or piece of metal left in some scrub caused some of these fires."
When you consider 47c and high winds on the day, I'd say with some of the fires it is possible....
rock-->o<--hard place
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 3,242
Likes: 0
From: Canberra, AUSTRALIA
Stu, sorry to hear mate...many really horrific stories. A work colleague and his wife are lucky to be alive....
...and Stephen, that implies some really tough work for you guys 
Registered User
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 575
Likes: 0
After having spoken to a Vietnamese Vet about the fires in Victoria it totally devastated us how the number of deaths , injuries loss of property etc compared to the Australian losses in the Vietnam war .
Vietnam War 3 August 1962 – 29 April 1975 number of Australian soldiers killed
...............521 .
Cheers
Michael
Vietnam War 3 August 1962 – 29 April 1975 number of Australian soldiers killed
...............521 .
Cheers
Michael
rev it up
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 1,590
Likes: 11
From: Brisbane Australia
What a tragedy, this would have to be the worst natural disaster this nation has seen in recent memory.
The scale of this disaster will become apparent as time goes by.
My thoughts and prayers are with everyone touched by this devastation...it will be a long time before the healing can begin.
skc
The scale of this disaster will become apparent as time goes by.
My thoughts and prayers are with everyone touched by this devastation...it will be a long time before the healing can begin.
skc
Super Moderator
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 10,880
Likes: 340
From: Australia
Andrew,
I am not correcting anyone here, but the facts of what starts a Bushfire are these.
Lightning Strike.
or by a Human, that is it. Either deliberately or by a tool like an angle grinder/machinery/but.
Internal combustion can happen if there is enough moisture..like a hay shed.
Apart from that a piece of glass or metal can not cause these or any fire, the actual odds of a piece of glass being the correct thickness/distance from combustible material, correct breeze, Yada, yada, yada...
I am not correcting anyone here, but the facts of what starts a Bushfire are these.
Lightning Strike.
or by a Human, that is it. Either deliberately or by a tool like an angle grinder/machinery/but.
Internal combustion can happen if there is enough moisture..like a hay shed.
Apart from that a piece of glass or metal can not cause these or any fire, the actual odds of a piece of glass being the correct thickness/distance from combustible material, correct breeze, Yada, yada, yada...
New Member
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 9,944
Likes: 2
From: Melbourne, Australia
Sometimes it is just pure carelessness, like throwing a cigarette bud?
Even bad maintain power line sometimes can give some spark. It is so dry that even static electricity can possibly start it off.
Who knows.... we are not experts and let the expert to deal with it.
I think they have trouble ID the deseased at this stage. Lucky we have interstate and NZ expert to deal with it.
Even bad maintain power line sometimes can give some spark. It is so dry that even static electricity can possibly start it off.
Who knows.... we are not experts and let the expert to deal with it.
I think they have trouble ID the deseased at this stage. Lucky we have interstate and NZ expert to deal with it.
Registered
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 325
Likes: 0
From: Northern NSW, Australia
Registered User
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 929
Likes: 0
These poor souls including the fire fighters were preparing for a bush fire but what they were hit with was a firestorm on a scale and ferocity the likes of which has never been seen. That so many survived is a miracle!
There are quite a few CFA crews up there that are just shattered. The emotional scaring for them and the other emergency workers is going to run just as deep. They deserve all the praise, thanks and respect we can send their way!
New Member
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 9,944
Likes: 2
From: Melbourne, Australia
It is likely that no comparable DNA can be find. e.g. no live immediate family available to match with the deceased.
Super Moderator
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 10,880
Likes: 340
From: Australia
The latest news is 1800 homes lost and 181 deaths.
I heard something last night that would have made this unbelievable tragedy even worse.
Thankfully or just luck the fires happened around the time they did, if it had been during the week one could only image the absolute horror with all the kids at school or pre-school, all the towns school structures and buildings were wiped out by the fires.
I heard another very sad thing, a father was removing his two little children from his house by placing them in his car, one of his kids said what about the dog.
In the time the father shut the car door and returned to his burning house to retrieve their dog then returning to see the car ablaze with his poor kids inside.
He had to run for his own life as his kids were gone.
What a shocking and tragic reality of these horrible fires.
The sadness this bring me is unbelievable.
What this man now has to live with would be a nightmare.
So, to everyone who has not given money to the Australian Red Cross, please do so, even our American, British and European RX-8 club members...please help us.
You can donate on-line at the Australian Red Cross secure website.
http://www.redcross.org.au/vic/servi...ppeal-2009.htm
I heard something last night that would have made this unbelievable tragedy even worse.
Thankfully or just luck the fires happened around the time they did, if it had been during the week one could only image the absolute horror with all the kids at school or pre-school, all the towns school structures and buildings were wiped out by the fires.
I heard another very sad thing, a father was removing his two little children from his house by placing them in his car, one of his kids said what about the dog.
In the time the father shut the car door and returned to his burning house to retrieve their dog then returning to see the car ablaze with his poor kids inside.
He had to run for his own life as his kids were gone.
What a shocking and tragic reality of these horrible fires.
The sadness this bring me is unbelievable.
What this man now has to live with would be a nightmare.
So, to everyone who has not given money to the Australian Red Cross, please do so, even our American, British and European RX-8 club members...please help us.
You can donate on-line at the Australian Red Cross secure website.
http://www.redcross.org.au/vic/servi...ppeal-2009.htm
Last edited by ASH8; Feb 13, 2009 at 11:11 PM.
Thread Starter
Hmmmmmm.........
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 3,564
Likes: 6
From: Melbourne, Australia
Here is another for you. A guy was fined $50,000 and ordered to pay court costs which totalled $50,000 in including his own for cutting down trees near his home. This was after he was advised that he was allowed to clear within 100m from his home. The saddest part was that his home was the only one around to survive.
Cheers
Andrew
Cheers
Andrew
Super Moderator
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 10,880
Likes: 340
From: Australia
Yes Andrew,
And the fact that (Thanks to the Greenies) you are not permitted to gather fallen tree timber on the side of country roads, the tree limbs must be pushed out of the way and left there to rot!..
How bloody stupid.
And the fact that (Thanks to the Greenies) you are not permitted to gather fallen tree timber on the side of country roads, the tree limbs must be pushed out of the way and left there to rot!..
How bloody stupid.
Thread Starter
Hmmmmmm.........
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 3,564
Likes: 6
From: Melbourne, Australia
I am going to ask really nicely. Can we keep this focused on the original topic. If it doesnt, I will delete the thread.
To kick start getting it back on topic, not sure who has heard about the government and power provider SP Austnet potentially being sued after it was revealed a collapsed power pole started the fires in Kinglake. Link here.
To kick start getting it back on topic, not sure who has heard about the government and power provider SP Austnet potentially being sued after it was revealed a collapsed power pole started the fires in Kinglake. Link here.
Super Moderator
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 10,880
Likes: 340
From: Australia
YES, Andrew I have.
And yes, BooB is that way inclined and likes to cross dress, Imagine him with a wig and red lipstick!!OOOHHH!
Sorry Andrew!
I did not think of a power line, and you guys have timber power poles don't you?, we have the Stobie Pole, concrete and iron.
Underground cabling would be another good Idea, if they can afford it.
I know many metro area's here (mostly new) are, they are very slowly going underground with power.
And yes, BooB is that way inclined and likes to cross dress, Imagine him with a wig and red lipstick!!OOOHHH!
Sorry Andrew!
I did not think of a power line, and you guys have timber power poles don't you?, we have the Stobie Pole, concrete and iron.
Underground cabling would be another good Idea, if they can afford it.
I know many metro area's here (mostly new) are, they are very slowly going underground with power.
Registered
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 391
Likes: 0
From: Hot Springs AR
I heard about the suit and I have to wonder WHY?
Whom do they think that is is going to effect? Come on people are giving millions to help the victims of the fires, they sue the Vic govt and power company the same people that are giving now till it hurts will have to pay again and again. The Vic govt will raise taxes to pay the lawsuit and the power company will raise every ones rates to cover their cost. The only losers in the suits are the people that pay those taxes and those rates.
Whom do they think that is is going to effect? Come on people are giving millions to help the victims of the fires, they sue the Vic govt and power company the same people that are giving now till it hurts will have to pay again and again. The Vic govt will raise taxes to pay the lawsuit and the power company will raise every ones rates to cover their cost. The only losers in the suits are the people that pay those taxes and those rates.
New Member
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 9,944
Likes: 2
From: Melbourne, Australia
I just read some reports from the Age this morning.
Apparently there are allegations that Marysville and Churchill fires are suspected to be deliberately lit... one person from Gippsland was arrested last week.
The fire that kill people in Kinglake and the fire in Horsham are thought to be caused by sparkes from broken powerline brought down by the strong wind.
The company that owns the lines is from Singapore and they have a contract that make them liable only for 100 million (thanks to Jeff Kennard when the contract was signed in the early 90s), but the bill and damage is calculated by lawyer filing the class action to be around 500 million mark. So that means the Victorian government will be liable for rest of the money ... if the total amount was rewarded by the supreme court.
Well there will be nothing for the school or public hospital if it were sucessful ....
Apparently there are allegations that Marysville and Churchill fires are suspected to be deliberately lit... one person from Gippsland was arrested last week.
The fire that kill people in Kinglake and the fire in Horsham are thought to be caused by sparkes from broken powerline brought down by the strong wind.
The company that owns the lines is from Singapore and they have a contract that make them liable only for 100 million (thanks to Jeff Kennard when the contract was signed in the early 90s), but the bill and damage is calculated by lawyer filing the class action to be around 500 million mark. So that means the Victorian government will be liable for rest of the money ... if the total amount was rewarded by the supreme court.
Well there will be nothing for the school or public hospital if it were sucessful ....
Thread Starter
Hmmmmmm.........
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 3,564
Likes: 6
From: Melbourne, Australia
I did not think of a power line, and you guys have timber power poles don't you?, we have the Stobie Pole, concrete and iron.
Underground cabling would be another good Idea, if they can afford it.
I know many metro area's here (mostly new) are, they are very slowly going underground with power.
Underground cabling would be another good Idea, if they can afford it.
I know many metro area's here (mostly new) are, they are very slowly going underground with power.
Thread Starter
Hmmmmmm.........
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 3,564
Likes: 6
From: Melbourne, Australia
OK I am going to say this once more in a slightly different way. I am happy to discuss politics but there is no room for bigotry, ridicule and hatred in most parts of life, but in a thread such as this its just down right disrespectful.
New Member
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 9,944
Likes: 2
From: Melbourne, Australia
Yes Sorry I should not have brought that up.
I was going to say the powerline is not owned by Australian company and now it failed and caused a big fire...
To be honest the wind was so strong that any powerline in the world will get broken....
I just want to mention we have been sitting in a time bomb.
I was going to say the powerline is not owned by Australian company and now it failed and caused a big fire...
To be honest the wind was so strong that any powerline in the world will get broken....
I just want to mention we have been sitting in a time bomb.
New Member
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 9,944
Likes: 2
From: Melbourne, Australia
I think that is something one should look at. I wonder if there is a fool proof system at 100kmh wind. But I am sure there are ways to minimise that risk.
Hypothecially... Do they need to sue the weather for blowing too hard, for being to hot?
This is really, really sad that this happened. But it is just a tragedy that could hardly have been prevented unless no one lived there.
Cheers,
Hymee.