Time for a bit of a rant! The serial arsonist that I made comment on in an earlier post has been at it again in the Bertram area with a massive bushfire yesterday started under suspicious circumstances.
It was forecast to be a 41 degree day yesterday with high winds - an arsonist's dream, and the public's worst nightmare.
Fortunately, DFES was onto the fire almost immediately, and it is only their intervention that prevented loss of life and property. But what are the other costs associated with this act of arson?
The freeway (the major road in the Perth metropolitan area) was closed in both directions which created chaos on the roads for commuters trying to get home at the end of their day (as I write this post, the freeway is still closed). That cost thousands of people hours each.
Running the aerial support for the ground fire crews is not an inexpensive exercise. Yesterday's act of arson cost the taxpayer thousands of dollars.
The volunteer fire crews who were called away from their usual place of employment to fight this fire would have cost their employers thousands of dollars in lost productivity.
Then there is the cost to the environment. This is the third deliberately lit fire in "The Spectacles" this summer. The Spectacles is a nature reserve and home to countless wildlife. It would be impossible to say how much native flora and fauna was lost yesterday and in the previous two instances.
I could keep going with regard to the indirect costs of arson. But we haven't seen the biggest cost yet - fortunately! Eventually, these acts of arson are going to cost someone their life. Either a member of the public, or one of the firefighters defending the population. Either way, it will be a dark day when that happens. I say when, because the law of averages says that it will happen eventually.
I have inserted a photo of "Elvis" in action yesterday, one of the Sky Cranes that does such a magnificent job in fighting bushfires every year.
Until next time,
CfB
It was forecast to be a 41 degree day yesterday with high winds - an arsonist's dream, and the public's worst nightmare.
Fortunately, DFES was onto the fire almost immediately, and it is only their intervention that prevented loss of life and property. But what are the other costs associated with this act of arson?
The freeway (the major road in the Perth metropolitan area) was closed in both directions which created chaos on the roads for commuters trying to get home at the end of their day (as I write this post, the freeway is still closed). That cost thousands of people hours each.
Running the aerial support for the ground fire crews is not an inexpensive exercise. Yesterday's act of arson cost the taxpayer thousands of dollars.
The volunteer fire crews who were called away from their usual place of employment to fight this fire would have cost their employers thousands of dollars in lost productivity.
Then there is the cost to the environment. This is the third deliberately lit fire in "The Spectacles" this summer. The Spectacles is a nature reserve and home to countless wildlife. It would be impossible to say how much native flora and fauna was lost yesterday and in the previous two instances.
I could keep going with regard to the indirect costs of arson. But we haven't seen the biggest cost yet - fortunately! Eventually, these acts of arson are going to cost someone their life. Either a member of the public, or one of the firefighters defending the population. Either way, it will be a dark day when that happens. I say when, because the law of averages says that it will happen eventually.
Until next time,
CfB
No comments:
Post a Comment