NSW bushfires: Petition for more firey funds hits NSW parliament
A petition demanding extra resources and funds for exhausted firefighters has been handed to pollies as the Gospers Mountain bushfire rages ahead of tomorrow’s catastrophic conditions.
NSW
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A petition demanding additional resources for firefighters facing longer, hotter bushfire seasons has been delivered to politicians outside NSW parliament — despite authorities insisting they’re happy with current funding levels.
This morning’s protest came after Premier Gladys Berejiklian described the Gospers Mountain megafire raging in the Blue Mountains as “uncontrollable” and a four-day fire ban declared ahead of surging temperatures and wild winds expected to create catastrophic conditions tomorrow.
A small crowd of demonstrators carrying placards gathered in Sydney this morning for the handover of the petition, which has so far gathered more than 59,000 signatures.
NSW Greens MP David Shoebridge, receiving the petition alongside Labor’s Penny Sharpe and Emma Hurst of the Animal Justice Party, said volunteer firefighters were under serious, unsustainable pressure.
“We’ve heard from the volunteers that they’re in danger of losing their jobs. Their employers can’t keep putting them on indefinite leave without state government support ... and where’s the premier? Well, she’s not here,” Mr Shoebridge said.
Ms Berejiklian yesterday attended the Rural Fire Service headquarters for a briefing on the current bushfire threat.
Leighton Drury, state secretary of the Fire Brigade Employees Union, said volunteers could not be expected to keep fighting ever-growing blazes and argued for more professional firefighters.
“Our volunteers are exhausted. They are doing an overwhelming, great job. But should we be expecting them to do this? Well, I say no. Even they’re starting to say no. We need more professional firefighters, not less,” Mr Drury said. He also claimed there has been a “systematic defunding of fire services in NSW” in the past eight years, including professional firefighter numbers. Such claims of underfunding have previously been rejected by the could cause problems over ensuing days.”
Berejiklian government. Despite the petition, RFS Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said resourcing and funding for the organisation had “never been better”.
“Our investments are at record levels. Do we want more in the future? Of course we would, and I’ll be working with government about what that might look like,” he told reporters.
The petition comes a day after a coalition of former fire chiefs slammed the federal government for a lack of leadership amid the crisis.
It also comes with the mega Gospers Mountain fire burning in the Blue Mountains is uncontrollable ahead of temperatures reaching 44 degrees at Penrith on Thursday and strong winds also forecast.
Ms Berejiklian warned that containing the fire was no longer an option after backburning by the RFS sparked more fires on Sunday.
“The fire fronts have joined, and the fire front is now huge. Containment is not an option, what is the option is to save life and property,” Ms Berejiklian said.
The Bureau of Meteorology has warned an “exceptionally hot air mass” will spread across the nation this week and that the “exceptional heat” would likely break December and all-time temperature records.
“We may even approach or exceed Australia’s warmest day on record,” meteorologist Dr Adam Morgan said.
Dry winds of up to 40km/h are expected to reach parts of Sydney on Thursday with choking smog expected to return.
NSW Rural Fire Service deputy commissioner Rob Rogers warned firefighters will not be able to contain every blaze before conditions deteriorate.
“Anyone of them could cause problems over ensuing days.”
He said Thursday would be bad and high temperatures were expected to return Saturday.
“With strong winds, you’ve got the worst possible circumstances and also so much fire in the landscape in so close a proximity to urban areas. It’s an awful situation,” he said.
The Gospers Mountain fire destroyed up to 20 buildings in the Blue Mountains after firefighters lost control of a backburning operation.
The RFS is unlikely to be held accountable for the properties destroyed by the bungled backburn on Sunday with the Insurance Council of Australia saying they are protected legally.
Koalas burned in the blaze are being cared for by vets at Taronga Zoo.
MIRACULOUS BATTLE SAVES HOME
With flames stretching 70m high in the air around his property Billy Gruners fought back against the wall of fire that was the result of a planned RFS backburn getting out of control.
The Mount Tomah resident captured the horrifying fire on camera as it swarmed his land and singed plastic inside his redwood home which he managed to save as neighbours houses burned down around him.
The RFS is unlikely to be held accountable for the properties destroyed by the bungled backburning operation on Sunday with the Insurance Council of Australia saying yesterday they are protected legally.
Residents on Skyline Rd fled the area as the fire approached on the weekend but Mr Gruners stayed on his property alongside firefighters as helicopters dumped retardant on the area.
At least four homes were destroyed in the street.
Neighbours gathered at Billy Gruner’s redwood home on Tuesday morning marvelling that he saved his home.
The dense foliage that surrounded his home had been burnt to a crisp but remarkably the house was untouched by the blaze.
“We have trees over 50 metres tall here and the walls of flames just tore over the top of them,” he told The Daily Telegraph.
“The heat was so hot it actually burnt some shelving inside the house. There is ash on the inside of the windowsill. I am absolutely amazed the whole house did not go up.”
Brave firefighters managed to protect the property with only slight external damage to plastic linings around the home.
Mr Gruner was extremely grateful for the RFS.
“Only last week I had sprinklers installed on the roof of the house to help protect the property,” he said.
There were more acts of selflessness and courage at the neighbouring town of Mt Wilson after their fire captain continued to protect homes in the hours after her own was razed.
Mount Wilson and Mount Irvine Fire Captain Beth Raines home was one of two buildings that was destroyed on Wynnes Rock Rd.
Her neighbour and lifelong friend Barry Freeman told The Daily Telegraph he can’t imagine what she is going through.
“Both her parents’ died last year. There will be heirlooms and a lot of memories she has lost when the home was destroyed,” he said.
“She took a little bit of time to look at the house before she came over to my property. She just reassured me that everything was going to be okay.”
The Insurance Council of Australia spokesman Campbell Fuller said the firefighters responsible for the backburning would be unlikely to be held accountable legally.
“Our understanding of the legislation is that firefighters, in the fire service, are protected for the acts they perform as part of their duties, including any fire reduction or back burning,”
Insurance Council Australia spokesman Campbell Fuller said.
“It is unlikely that there will be any recourse towards the firefighters.”