kock knockers

No.

Like I said, we were observing the law.

I thought the fire ban had been in since Saturday?

Its been in selected areas at selected times, not a blanket ban

No total fire ban anywhere in Vic today

fire ban map

further to that, most of vic is under a fire danger period during which a camp fire is allowed with restrictions

* It is fully contained in a proper fireplace or in a trench at least 30cm deep
* An area of 3 metres all around and above the fire is completely cleared of flammable material
* A person* is in attendance at all times
* The fire is no larger than 1 square metre
* The wind speed is less than 10kph (i.e. a light breeze that can be felt on the face and will rustle leaves on trees)
* The fire is not lit within 7.5 metres of any log or stump

It is important to have sufficient water on hand in case of emergency.

Yeah, we followed all that Ray, but Captain Wanker was not aware of the law.

The poor little insignificant sod was just trying to exercise the only modicum of authority he has ever had in his life.

Whether or not he was a genuine CFA chap I can't be sure, he wasn't in uniform or carrying any identification.

hear hear Brian, I bet these guys come across agro unreceptive people all the time, and these guys (volunteers) are often the ones who have the most to lose, being local farmers etc
He would have a good case to be "overzealous" if he has fought a few fires or cleaned up a couple of burnt bodies in the past.
His spin on it might be a bit different, and might think HE is owed an apology???!!!

Brian,
just my 0.02c regarding CFA... I was approached in my area to act as a volunteer with the CFA. I went along to meet some of the guy's and discuss the requirements/responsibilities. From my limited experience, the guy's on the payroll were nice blokes who were very receptive and friendly to talk to but most of the volunteers(out of about a dozen in attendance) were tossers... Seemed to be more interested in talking about what hero's they were, couldn't directly answer any questions without a hero story and kept cutting me off with hero stories. Their actions while I was there made me question whether or not they had actually been exposed to any disaster or tradgedy and I felt that they were most likely not the guy's I wanted by my side in a life or death situation. As it happened, my shift rotation was a hinderance to training and they weren't keen to sign me up. I work with an ex-SES guy(very easy going and down to earth bloke) who left because of the conflicts he was having with(his words) "small minded blokes with low self esteem"

Not trying to tar all these guy's with the same brush and I mean no disrespect to members who are most likely doing a great and very professional job as volunteers. It's a shame that here as in many other aspects of life, a few tools can taint the image of the many who do a great job. As I said, just my 0.02c from a very limited experience.

I agree it's a thankless job and a service which many in the community take for granted. Personally, I have a great deal of respect for the people who are prepared to be on call 24/7 to deal with emergencies whether it be fire, storm damage, road accidents, whatever...

Blue,

I've worked with a few who behave exactly as you have said.

Some (and I say some) only get involved to deal with their lack of achievement and importance in life.

Men with small achievements and big egos.

Hi Blue,

Sorry to hear that was how they were. For me I have spent most of my working life in the ambulance service and I work closely with fire, police and SES and will try and positively promote them whenever I can.

I'm not making excuses for the guy that Jim encountered but it is worth a minute to try and understand these jobs and the people who do them. These guys have a very different culture and it is shared over most emergency services. When I first joined the ambulance in 1982 I was totally gobsmacked at the conversations and behaviours that I witnessed while in the meal room etc and it is not until you work with these guys for a while that you accept that but it takes a while and some people never come to terms with it. It is a truly unique culture.

I never let that bother me too much as long as when there is a job on they get in and do it and treat people correctly. At the end of the day if their charcter is a bit over the top then I can accept that if their work is up to scratch. Obviously the "weekend warrior" type attitude is not the right one to have.

These jobs generate enormous amounts of frustration for staff at times. A good example is for a paramedic to see a car go past with unrestrained kids in it. The amount of our guys who will pull up next to that car in traffic and tell them it is unsafe to have the kids unrestrained and who then get totally abused is amazing. Some people might think this is the paramdic trying to be overzealous but the motivation comes from seeing the end result at times of unrestrained kids in car crashes.

I agree with you in that the vast majority do the right thing and like in all jobs there is a minority group of ratbags.

Happy New Year

gday mogs.
no he didnt cut the wood lol.
we stole a heap of wood from another camp spot after they had left.
we were not happy that we couldnt burn it before we left but im sure jimbo did a great job for the rest of us.

Robbo,

Do you mean knee jerk liberals or knee jerk Liberals. Two totally different species.

A knee jerk Liberal is similar to a knee pad conservative; all greasing up to those with power and money and crushing the battlers.

Ah! jimbo.

What more can I say otherthan I luv your work, especially after you have had a 'tot' or three.

I reckon they are just a bunch of girls mate.

The bigger the chain saw, the more juice used to fire it up, the more dead wood burnt to get the fire to the apotheosis of heat emitting pyrotechnics, all the better I say.

Couldn't the galoot figure out that you had it under control.

Mate! these social engineers should be placed on the said fire and burnt at the stake.

There is always someone wanting to comment on what others do.

Look at poor old Willem for example, just because he blew a moggy through the wall with a 'tonne' of buckshot, the bleeding hearts came out in droves and had the post eliminated.

Other cootas like to drive the desert with 80psi in their tyres and out come the so called 'sand devils'

I'll catch you at you next Bon Fire soiree. (Go Guy Jimbo - just hope they don't hang, draw and quater you like old Fawkes'y)

Hi JayGee,

Agree with you entirely, only a real d***head would consider lighting an open fire in the middle of summer anywhere in Australia

Perhaps the WA system (Absolutely no fires) is one reason why we don't have the massive outbreaks reported recently in the east.
Of course there are always fires started by lightning and (heaven help us) by lunatic arsonists. Not much one can do about those fires but otherwise no bloody fires in summer. full stop.

Generally speaking, WA seems to be much more bushfire conscious than t'otherside.
Keep our fingers crossed, watertanks full and be prepared.

Yes Gramps,

But it was his agressive, supercillious approach that got under my skin.

Had he approached a less passive chap than myself, he might have been eating his food through a straw for the next six weeks.

Silly little man he was.

Cheers,

Jim.

Now I understand. Sorry mate, should have realised he'd have to be a raw prawn to get under your skin so badly.

Regards

are you saying you guys went around putting out perfectly legal camp fires ?

Fair call Ray.

gents
i started my cfa life in warrandyte which as part of region 13 had a fire rating similar to california at this time of the year" highly explosive'"under a tough captain at this time of the year all fires were put out and you could argue with him (but i bet you didnt win ) unlike this time of politial correctness etec etc etc ..if you would like to talk about fires and firesfighting etc feel free and i agree there a lot of volunteer wankers but about 98%of the volunteers are there for your good and the good of our country that you like to drive around in
those of you who live in country towns or even close to the cities would be in a lot of trouble if those wanker volunteers and their mates decided that they were all going to give it away

think about it
or try chasing a spark form 1 small fire for days and watch it burn out the country side
in answer to your question ray YES

steve

And I might have emptied a thousand rounds into your tank LOL.

What....... I was way off?

No need to be abrupt.

Observe the law.

Pezza,

Do you participate in Archery?

Because Fair Dinkhum, you are drawing a long bow.

You would have got along well with Captain Marvel ROFLMAO