Australias Fire's

Sometimes I wonder why we all take the time to moan about our political problems, and the whole credit crunch thing when, at the moment, Australia really has problems.

The climate is doing it's thing and hitting them with 40-47 degree sunshine and heat every day, and to top it all they then have the dreadful fires that are currently raging, to content with...... and now it seems that some of them were started on purpose.... go figure, their fire fighters are all knackered no doubt, having been working pretty much non stop for a fair while now, and then some idiot decides to add to their workload.

The current death toll is 130, and I pray that this will not increase further.

Whilst I was driving into work this morning, our local radio station, Pirate FM, played something that had been aired live the night before in Australia to the local radio station there.

It touched me so deeply, that I had tears falling freely down my face, whilst driving and once I arrived at work, continued to sit in my car to ensure the outcome was not what I feared.....

It was a telephone call from a woman called Rhona, I believe, who was in her property, with 8 children, 2 elderly adults and 4 adults. They were surrounded on all sides by fire, and it was only half a kilometre away from them and getting closer.

This woman was calmly explaining what was happening, so very bravely, and all of the time the chaps in the radio station were trying to hide their upset and talk to her, and trying to find out if any fire crews were in the area at all, s they could give her some hope.

She said their bathroom was in the centre of the house and they were planning on trying to survive in there when the time came, under wet cotton towels. They were advised to fill the bath with water and remove any synthetic clothing, and replace it with wet woollen items instead.

In the meantime she advises that she can no longer see the fire - only smoke. A woman then comes on air who is apparently related to Rhona and they begin to talk and then the line goes dead.

The DJ's are frantically trying to keep it together and hide their upset, as it seems that the house has just been engulfed by fire along with all of the occupants.

Then a chap is put on air and he advises that his son has just broken his way through the fire and trees in a tractor, from the next homestead. He has all the occupants of the house in the trailer or bucket (it was unclear) but basically everyone was safe......

I was never to relieved to hear anything.

I hold my hat up to everyone surviving and living through these terrible circumstances and am sure that there will be many more hero's that will emerge before it is all over.

Be assured of this - just because you are on the other side of the world - you are not alone - we care.

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