Skip to main content

AUSSIES WORST FIRE SINCE ‘83

By
Adelaide, South Australia finally overcomes the biggest fire since the bushfires of Ash Wednesday in 1983.
The fire known as the ‘Sampson Flat’ fire started at around 10am on Friday the 2nd January 2015, welcoming the New Year with terror for all of Adelaide’s citizens. The fire quickly spread burning approximately 30,888 acres of the Adelaide Hills.

Over 700 South Australian Country Fire Service volunteers fought the blaze, alongside with members from fire crews across the nearby areas and a record breaking 31 aircraft. The fire was finally put out completely on the 9th of January, after eight days, thanks to the sudden appearance of the heaviest rainfall in Adelaide and South Australia in 30 years.

Ian Tanner from the South Australian County Fire Service, during the fire, said: “There is not a fire service anywhere in the world that could put out this fire at the moment.”

The fire ate through 32 homes and 125 outbuildings, tearing through people’s homes and destroying livestock. There were 134 injuries but amazingly there were no fatalities. Throughout the week long blaze campaigns were launched to save the wildlife which had been run from their homes because of the blaze, ‘How to feed a Koala’ and ‘How to save a baby Kangaroo’ were some of the main campaigns. The destruction has left most of the local wildlife without a home, and the continuing campaigns help them and the people who lost their homes.

Tanya Edwards, 48, who lives in Adelaide, South Australia, had to leave her home at one point because her “house is filling with smoke”, she was on the edge of the fire throughout the past week.
The fire, which was contained on Wednesday was finally put out by the rain on Friday, bringing relief to the entire community, and allowing the fire crews to return home.

Tanya Edwards, said: “As of Wednesday night the fires were contained and are now out.
“We have been blessed with some serious rain which has helped put an end to the fire.

“But the more amazing facts are the fact that no one died in the fire and the amazing community spirit that this disaster brought out.

“People went out of their way to help each other and pitch in to help. It was heart-warming to see the Aussie spirit shine so bright.”

During the disastrous fire which devastated most of the Adelaide area, fire crews were fighting the flames 24/7, and throughout that time many of Adelaide’s citizens were displaced, depending on the fire-fighters to protect their homes.

Tanya Edwards said: “The CFS [Country Fire Service] are volunteer fire fighters, they are unpaid. Some of them lost their own homes while they were out fighting for others. Volunteers came from NSW [New South Wales] and VIC [Victoria] to help fight our fires.


“I couldn’t sleep. Even though I was in my own bed, I couldn’t stop thinking of those that weren’t. Whether it was because they had lost their homes, were displaced or out their fighting the fires for us. A truly terrible and terrifying time for South Australia.”  
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Work-Based Learning Expansion

By
Hundreds of people will have the opportunity to study for degree-level courses while in employment thanks to a significant expansion of Graduate Level Apprenticeships. A total of 379 places will be made available for individuals to study for a degree, up to Masters levels, while in work in 2017-18. This builds on the investment that delivered a successful pilot of 27 places in the academic year of 2016-17. Skills Development Scotland is working with businesses, universities and colleges to deliver Graduate Level Apprenticeships. The programme aims to meet the needs of employers looking for high levels of academic and industry accreditation combined with experience in the workplace. Minister for Employability and Training, Jamie Hepburn, said; "We carried out a consultation with employers, which identified a need for skills that better support businesses and help them grow. "As a result we have committed to expanding the number of Graduate Level Apprenticeships, br...
Post a Comment
Read more

NHS Waiting Times To Be Reduced With Fifty Million Pound Investment

By
Scotland's NHS is to see an additional £50 million investment to improve waiting times performance, announced health secretary Shona Robison. The investment will be distributed across the territorial health boards to improve performance in a range of areas; including outpatient consultations, diagnostic tests and treatment. This will support improvements in waiting times, particularly for inpatients who have been experiencing waits above the 12 week treatment time guarantee. Ms Robison, said; "This increased funding of £50 million will help us reduce waiting times at all stages of a patient's journey through the NHS - the original consultation, and tests required, and the final procedure itself. " This investment comes in addition to the £10 million that was recently invested to reduce outpatient waiting times focusing on areas such as orthopaedics, ophthalmology and gastroenterology. Following this investment, the most recent waiting times statistics, sho...
Post a Comment
Read more

Increased Carer's Allowance To Be Delivered Next Summer.

By
The next milestone in building Scotland's new social security system will be the delivery of the first benefits and these will be the increased Carer's Allowance, the Best Start Grant and the Funeral Expense Assistance. The new benefits will be subject to the scrutiny and agreement of the Scottish Parliament. Social Security Secretary, Angela Constance, said; "The delivery of these first benefits is the next milestone in building Scotland's new social security system - the largest, most complex programme of change in the history of devolution. "The benefits we will deliver may be different in nature but there is one common thread which binds them - an investment in the people of Scotland. "Our approach will always treat people with fairness, dignity and respect, and there is no better way to show this than providing the support that they need and when they need it. These steps are key to helping us create a fairer country for all. "Our plan...
Post a Comment
Read more