Chilling firestorm Video from Victoria bushfires

ozperp said:
Absolutely. I think we all know we have to insure against a house fire, or a storm, or whatever. But very few of us would ever have imagined something on this scale, with our whole community disappearing, or having to be "temporarily accommodated" for 18 months. I have absolutely no problem with either our taxpayer funds or public aid being used to assist with the unforeseen expenses and consequences of this disaster.
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This I would agree with, if the people made reasonable effort to protect themselves, and then get caught with these unforeseen situations, public funds are appropriate in this case.

But someone who didn't bother with insurance, didn't want to help themselves, and now expect the public to pick up the pieces - this is my gripe.

As mentioned, about 1/3 of the houses up there were not insured.. this is a discrase.
 
Ok, I donated money to the Red Cross to provide immediate relief for people whether insured or not, to buy clothes, toiletries, food, immediate shelter until the Insurance claim is processed, and maybe some toys for the kids. I also donated similar amounts to the Animal wildlife rescue, and the RSPCA (Bushfire) appeal. I did not donate in the belief that it would rebuild someone's home who was not insured. I understand that previously, donated money has been used to rebuild non insured homes. If that happens again, I will only donate to the RSPCA and Wildlife rescue.
 
Thanks for the link Peter

The talk about fire bunkers for schools is essential. Imagine if that fire storm had gone through during a weekday and not on a Saturday. Three schools were burnt to the ground. Protection is essential for the children in fire prone areas.

I am not sure where the money will come from but it needs to be found. Education Victoria will be struggling next financial year as it is with the increased costs in running the schools. Lets hope some of the money being given by the Federal Govt for school improvements can be used for this specific purpose.

Chris
 
I know after Ash Wednesday a community bunker was built in Cockatoo in the Dandenongs. That is probably the better solution than individual bunkers considering the overall poor quality of most residential building nowadays.

Even more so when you consider that many homes will be exisiting and many of the locals within 1hr from Melbourne actually work in Melb 9 to 5, so as you point out , they would be not on site to protect family anyhow.

Peter
 
I know the bunker you are referring to.

One problem that keeps being highlighted is getting to a communal bunker through the smoke and fire. Thats how so many lost lives this time, actually driving through the smoke and crashing, or having the fire catch the car.

Engines melted, as did alloy wheels. How do the spaceships handle extreme heat, can we learn something from them?

Chris
 
crc_error said:
and I certainly hope you help someone else in need that you come across, perhaps the poor pensioner down the road, or the person across the road who lost their job..

o wait, we dont have all the channel 10 coverage there, and shane warn rustling tins for them so they are all but forgotten..
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acording to your logic, why should she ? we should help no one - house burnt down, bad luck shoudl have had insurance.. poor old pensioner, bad luck should have saved harder/invested wiser.. .refugee, bad luck should have been born in another country.....

if you simplify everythign down to the ridiculous, the only conscusion you could possibly come up with is... wait for it... ridiculous

It's not as simpel as insurance money for houses. it is more than that. Crises, like this and others, have wdier effects that go beyond an individual..

It shows total immaturity from a grown adult with brains to compare this to a kid saving his money for a bike and his sister getting given one...

anyway it is obvious you see thigns very simplistically, in that case, why dont you go and solve th eproblem of world hunger, surely you beleive you know the answer....you do don't you ?
 
cool, I'm cancelling our house insurance, car insurance and health insurance, and while I'm at it cancel income, TPD and trauma, cause I know all you guys will come to my rescue should anything happen to me.. great, I will save like $3000 per year...
 
chrispy said:
How do the spaceships handle extreme heat, can we learn something from them?
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For atmospheric entry, the shuttle uses special ceramic tiles. In these cases however, the heat is from one direction only, whereas in a bushfire situation, you are surrounded.....

The Y-man
 
crc_error said:
cool, I'm cancelling our house insurance, car insurance and health insurance, and while I'm at it cancel income, TPD and trauma, cause I know all you guys will come to my rescue should anything happen to me.. great, I will save like $3000 per year...
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as you pointed out, it ain't that simple.

you should also pray that if something happens, it is a highly publicised event, otherwise you will find only 1 person, Chrispy even notices your plight and gives you any assistance.. the rest of asutralia will be sitting back waiting for channel 9 t tell us where to donate money. This is going by your logic again
 
Peter 14.7 said:
I know after Ash Wednesday a community bunker was built in Cockatoo in the Dandenongs.
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Cockatoo has never had a “bunker”…….

After Ash Wednesday a fire refuge building was built in the Alma Trelour reserve which has been used by community groups since eg: the Scouts etc. But it was canned as a fire refuge by council many years ago……mainly due to safety concerns. How can you have a fire refuge building that doesn’t even have a sprinkler system?? It was also decided too dangerous to have people leaving the “so called relative safety of their homes” and putting them on the roads to get them to the refuge.

Chrispy will be referring to the Cockatoo Primary School’s multi purpose building that will be used (for primary school students only) in the case of an emergency. It does have a sprinkler system as well as shutters on the windows. It will only be available for students and teachers and not for the local community. If the town is under threat the children will be kept at the school until the situation is considered safe. Parents and other residents will not have access to the building.

Having lost everything during the Ash Wednesday fires, I really feel for everyone who has suffered during the last few weeks. But life does go on, communities do rebuild.

Problem is the dangers are not over yet…….still a long way to go unfortunately. Fingers crossed for Friday’s extreme weather, and hopefully all the arsonists give us all a break! :(
 
The first problem with community bunkers is they may provide a false sense of security, and people may be better off leaving town.

Then there's the problem of the risks people take when trying to get to them at the last minute (at what point do you close the doors?)

What happens if they fill up?

I think on high fire danger days, or when the alerts become higher that children should be sent home. Its the responsibility of the parents to look after them appropriately. Also, kids at school brings about the huge danger of hundreds of parents rushing to schools to look after their children when a fire front hits. If children are with their parents already there will be no panic/rush to get to them.

Anyway, just my 2c worth.
 
You are correct Ruby, that is the building I am referring to. I was visiting schools in the area many years ago checking their DisPlan when the Principal took me through the building, it was well ahead of its time then but as you say was for the use of the students.

Currently, a daily bulletin is issued by the Ministry to Schools instructing which schools should open and which should close depending on the fire risk and where children from fire damaged schools should attend.

Ruby you have been in my mind many times these past weeks, knowing that you lost so much in the Ash Wednesday fires. As you say the fires are a long way from finished as became obvious this week with the fires in Upwey, etc.

Did the people of Cockatoo rebuild in a different way because of the devastation ?

Chris
 
http://www.minearc.com.au/nd7/minearc-developing-bush-fire-shelter/

This company builds refuge chambers for underground mines. Have been in a few mines which use them in WA. Quite expensive but top quality. They are built to withstand heat, smoke, explosions and collapses. Also have a oxygen supply internal and a CO2 srubber system.

Interesting to see them now developing a bush fire shelter (cheaper model but probably higher temp specs) due to demand.

I'd probably buy one if I was living in the area affected by the fires.
 
chrispy said:
Did the people of Cockatoo rebuild in a different way because of the devastation ?
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We did, but on the whole no they didn’t.

There is only a small number of people still living here that went through Ash Wednesday. Many built a basic replacement (mainly in western red cedar) and sold up. Having the majority of the population never having lived through that sort of disaster has meant complacency in a lot of areas. The Black Saturday fires have certainly been a wake up call for many around here. Although its unfortunate that its taken such a crisis to make people think.

I’m looking forward to the Royal Commission and their findings, hopefully they will be able to develop a better set of guidelines for fire prone areas. Some good needs to come out of these tragic events. :(
 
A shame to see how some of these experts here want to carry on about insurance. Statements similar to 30% without insurance is negligent and rich people with expensive properties and businesses. Yes there are some rich people and very nice properties but the majority who live in this area are not even middle class. A high % of the 30% without insurance are low income home owners who have moved out towards places like Kinglake because it is all they can afford to buy. These people live in very basic style homes without all the trappings of suburbia. Very few would own things like plasma tv's or computers as they simply can't afford too. Many of these low income families live on one wage and can't afford to have 2 cars etc and live here because it has a nice community spirit without the violence and hassles of living in the suburbs and is a very family orientated area.

So unless you know the people who live here and know exactly where the money is going don't speculate with your non factual theories. If you have something to write then back it up with facts.
 
What are we speculating about exactly? The facts are that many people dont have Insurance. Most of us see Insurance as part of the parcel of owning a house; if you cant afford Insurance to insure your most valuable investment then you cant afford to own a home and you need to rent.

If people read their Mortgage documents they are REQUIRED to have Insurance and provide the Lender with a copy of Insurance currency on demand. Where is the speculation? These are the facts.
 
Besides, I havent read that there are plans to use the money to rebuild uninsured houses.

As far as I know, this is speculation that is now being passed off as fact.
 
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