Bushfire Arsonists - A danger to we travellers & everyone

I think it's a mental illness that can only be put at bay by burning something and watching what happens.
I have a couple of friends that are career firefihters....that love the thrill of back burning and putting fires out. Funny that they both have ginger complexion. Nice blokes though and do a tough job when the call goes out.
Brett....

There is an awful lot of fires started by careless campers too - I have lost count of the number of times we have poured water onto hot embers that have been left. People think it is there god given right to have a campfire regardless of the weather!

Just watching the ABC news about the devastating fires in Tassie, one of which was apparently caused by an unextinguished campfire. Arson is an appaling crime but it's only marginally worse than neglect and irreponsibility in my opinion. There is absolutely no excuse in this day and age for not ensuring that any fire you have is safe, and subsequently totally extinguished (including coals), or for ridiculously irresponsible behaviour during dangerous fire conditions such as using certain equipment outdoors or discarding 'live' cigarette butts. It's bad enough when nature wreaks havoc but at least we can rationalise that. Very, very sad but at least so far no deaths.

G/Day Wilko,...i know where your comming from, Years ago my father had a property up at Port Macquarie on the NSW Nth Coast, His neighbour lit a fire down the back on his side , it was extremeley dry knee high grass, when it got going he pinged off without a word said, The old man busted his gut to contain this for about five hrs to save his house and sheds and everything else ( luckily he had a small dam near the house with a pump set up),, Well the neighbour turned up on dusk and the old man was waitng, What a scene that was!, He reefed this dude out of the car,and up against the barbwire fence, and flogged him, it would be one guy that learn't a lesson about being nuts with fire i can tell ya..




Cheers Axle

You want to influence arsonists...then start targeting smokers. The accidental arsonist..except its knowledge that ignited cigarette butts cause wild fires.

Even in the current fire emergency danger in Tasmania and Victoria, and the media coverage happening across Australia, drive along a road and you will soon enough see a smoker flick a butt out the window.

Ever see all the median strip fires, the fires that initiate close to a roadway and head for the hills..yep, your average car driving smoker who thinks his butt stinks too much to put into his own ashtray or vehicle has often caused that.

Its worse at the moment due to the high cure of vegetative fuels and high ambient temperatures, but for sure, your friends, relatives, Exploroz smokers and others are out there, flicking their butts into the environment.

You can go to the remotest parts of Australia..and apart from your footprints..what will you eventually and often easily find...?..cigarette butts.

Grubs.

A few years ago a young fella (8) that I took into Queensland thought it it would be fun to play with matches that he found, while we were camped at Longreach.
About a dozen of us campers were soon putting out a small grass fire. He denied it of course, till weeks later.
Several more small fires have been started by this young lad since.
A firebug in the making, yet because of his age, his circumstances, and a few more things, he will most likely be 18 before his first "punishment"

A very timely post, Wilko,..people will continue to cause such destruction, either
deliberately or by accident. Why...I dont know. We have all seen the pollies & law
enforcement folk threaten to hang such offenders, but the truth is that hardly any
arson case finds its way to court & even fewer convictions occur.
Maybe this would change if we were able to collect more evidence, but few offenders
start fires in front of witnesses, but by photographing what is suspicious, noting
vehicle type & number etc, we may bring a change to the conviction rate.
The response from Govt. will continue to be towards the restriction of all fires in all
places. This denies pleasure to campers, but that can hardly be compared to loss of
life. It annoys the crap out of farmers, who's business depends on judicious use of
fire, but that doesnt compare either.
Assuming we have no arsonists on EO, we dont seem to have many options other
than to be responsible with fire, report incidents (with supporting evidence) & try to
spread the word on fire safety...cheers.....oldbaz.

Give the Arsonists a break,they were smacked on the bum for being naughty as a child and had there lunch stolen from others while at school..(sarcastic) The pathetic list goes on.Its a shame they dont light the houses of scumbag lawyers that represent them and try and get the best deal for the perpetrator as possible...

I generally spend a lot of time in the The High Country over summer off the beaten track looking for new camp areas on rivers..but traversing through popular areas i cannot believe the amount of fires left going even on windy days bellowing through gorges etc etc...Some places (Huts etc)..Supply a bucket near the camp fire but there to lazy to go down and fill it up and put the fire out,its left to others..

Generally if its hot like lately we didn't have one fire lit..

All the laws of National and State Forests need to be quadrupled for a start..Lets get serious..

Hi all,

I hadn't thought about campfires that weren't fully extinguished but it is a good point, I learnt the hard way, I was camping back when I was 16 and didn't fully put the fire out, Dirt on top doesnt put it out, I nearly burnt down my Uncles hay shed.

Thanks to EO mod squad for letting this slightly OT post slip thru ; )

Cheers Wilko