NSW FIRES

robbiegal · October 17, 2013, 08:16:54 PM

hey guys,
I hope that all our NSW members are safe
I have been watching the fire news and must admit having gone through the fires in my suburbs a few years ago - I am feeling a bit anxious
keep safe guys
xx Robbie :heart:

Goldseeker · October 17, 2013, 09:16:59 PM

I concur and if anyone is in trouble, don't be afraid to let us know.

Fulvio · October 17, 2013, 09:32:57 PM

Williamtown Maccas from Facebook:

duggee27 · October 19, 2013, 04:00:57 PM

just arrived back from deepest darkest africa on friday night for the cabbie to fill us in on the 80+ homes burnt to the ground the previous day at winmalee just 5 km as the crow flies from our place !! its devastating

its in these times when people pitch in and help those in need..

Possie Ron · October 19, 2013, 04:13:09 PM

Quote from: 'duggee27' pid='31510' dateline='1382160657'just arrived back from deepest darkest africa on friday night for the cabbie to fill us in on the 80+ homes burnt to the ground the previous day at winmalee just 5 km as the crow flies from our place !! its devastating

its in these times when people pitch in and help those in need..

You must be close by Duggee. Mount Riverview (Blaxland) here.

duggee27 · October 19, 2013, 04:18:42 PM

Quote from: 'Possie Ron' pid='31513' dateline='1382161389'
Quote from: 'duggee27' pid='31510' dateline='1382160657'just arrived back from deepest darkest africa on friday night for the cabbie to fill us in on the 80+ homes burnt to the ground the previous day at winmalee just 5 km as the crow flies from our place !! its devastating

its in these times when people pitch in and help those in need..

You must be close by Duggee. Mount Riverview (Blaxland) here.

sure am
i had worked out you are in the area
did you get th call to evacuate, if so, what coin did you grab ! and the missus of course

Possie Ron · October 19, 2013, 04:22:58 PM

Quote from: 'duggee27' pid='31514' dateline='1382161722'
Quote from: 'Possie Ron' pid='31513' dateline='1382161389'
Quote from: 'duggee27' pid='31510' dateline='1382160657'just arrived back from deepest darkest africa on friday night for the cabbie to fill us in on the 80+ homes burnt to the ground the previous day at winmalee just 5 km as the crow flies from our place !! its devastating

its in these times when people pitch in and help those in need..

You must be close by Duggee. Mount Riverview (Blaxland) here.

sure am
i had worked out you are in the area
did you get th call to evacuate, if so, what coin did you grab ! and the missus of course

Heaps of Evacuation calls, And saved all of the coins and the missus to carry them.

duggee27 · October 19, 2013, 04:32:24 PM

sure am
i had worked out you are in the area
did you get th call to evacuate, if so, what coin did you grab ! and the missus of course
[/quote]

Heaps of Evacuation calls, And saved all of the coins and the missus to carry them.
[/quote]

now thats a plan :angel:
when things get back to normal PM me and we can have our own show and tell

trout · October 19, 2013, 08:36:01 PM

Stay safe you Mob and if it comes to the crunch then bugger the coins .
Look after your family , After all they are FAR more important and irreplaceable .
If you loose your coins IT is sad , But if you loose your family it will be devastating :ok:
IF they tell you to evacuate chuck the missus and kids in the car and put the pedal to the metal and "Get out of Dallas".
If it is God's will then all will be there when you can return safely, IF not then everything else is replaceable .
Your loved ones aren't :ok:

robbiegal · October 19, 2013, 09:27:30 PM

we did that with the fires here
just grabbed the dog, medications and my mother's engagement ring and spent a few days in an evacuation centre helping out those who had lost everything

the place was still here when we got back but houses just up the road a bit (apx 1 k) were gone gone gone - they have only finished the rebuild in recent years ; it seems to take forever and the place stinks of burnt embers for years
esp if people are under-insured , they seem to have to sell the land and set up house elsewhere
one of my sons had quite a few school mates leave as the families could not afford the rebuild, so not only did we lose half of our suburbs but the kids lost close contact their pals as well
although, he is 26 now and one lad still comes here or he goes to see him in Wollongong so friendships weren't totally lost
my boss lost her home and couldn't rebuild due to under-insurance

rob de castella lives up from us and his kids went to my kids primary school (rob and I had done stalls together at the school fete)
he lost everything but not his family as they were all out of town

I feel for your suburbs and the road to recovery is heartbreaking, dusty, dirty & messy and not at all easy - I wish all the best and hope that it is smooth as possible for those who will have to rebuild

the patchwork club here will be busy sewing as after the fires here (500 homes lost), Canberra received hundreds of patchwork quilts from Australian clubs and American clubs - so for sure the ladies will get the machines out and send through patchwork care packages to our NSW friends

Fulvio · October 20, 2013, 12:42:47 AM

Quote from: 'robbiegal' pid='31534' dateline='1382180250'they seem to have to sell the land and set up house elsewhere

Mmmmm... more to it than that though.

What we saw in Cockatoo was the vast majority couldn't handle the memories, the losses, the risk and so on, and got out of Dodge soon after. Within a couple of years the town was full of new faces. And of course it changed the feel of the place completely, especially since the rubbernecks decided to buy in and brought suburbia with them. Crime went through the roof, the place went to the dogs, and I'd be very surprised if there's anyone left now. We had friends who ran away as far as Nimbin and the Gold Coast. And the new mob have no idea of what's in store when it happens again.

The heartbreaking thing is that no matter how often the cycle of destruction repeats itself, we keep putting back exactly what was destroyed, completely failing to comprehend that fire is as natural and necessary a part of the Australian bush as you could get. Its never a question of WILL it burn, but simply WHEN.

We were discussing this fire season over lunch today, and the considered opinion of everyone present, including fire survivors and firefighters, was that with all the wet weather we've just had and the perfect growing conditions, Jan/Feb may well see a rerun of Ash Wednesday across Victoria and South Australia.

Its not over by a longshot.. just beginning really.

Goldseeker · October 20, 2013, 11:57:56 PM

You are most probably correct Fulvio but I pray you will be wrong.........

b_j_w_79 · October 21, 2013, 08:17:00 PM

Always feel for the people affected by the fires. My parent lost the family home 7 or 8 years ago now (including some coins). Takes a long time to rebuild....years. The number of houses lost in devastating, however such large number makes the government and public take notice and the money/support starts flowing quickly. In my parents case they were 1 of 9 houses lost I think. Barely even got a mention after a couple of days on the news and therefore only a little support (financial/emotional).

They were well insured but people don't allow for extra costs after a fire. For example, a higher demand for builders means you often need to pay more, new fire ratings for the new houses, new/updated septic tank regulations for new houses (an extra $10K alone), etc etc.

However, I do have a problem with greatly under-insured or those with no insurance getting extra money/support etc compared to those with insurance (this happened). My parents are pensioners and often have to pay the insurance bill on the credit card to make sure they are covered and it takes the whole year to pay it. I just find it unfair! I just think there should be consistency!

Good luck to all those in the fire areas, be safe!

robbiegal · October 21, 2013, 08:32:51 PM

yeah
over here the builders and tradies had a field day
all jobs were well well over twice the usual price
and house prices doubled within weeks post fires
it was just crazy

we certainly checked our insurance and realised that we didn't have enough to replace everything and we didn't even own the house at that time - just contents

Fulvio · October 21, 2013, 09:22:43 PM

Quote from: 'b_j_w_79' pid='31702' dateline='1382348820'The number of houses lost in devastating

Even ONE is devastating. More so if its yours.

We really need to get our heads around this problem though, and stop building suburbia in the bush. What works in a concrete jungle is completely inappropriate in a totally flammable environment that WANTS to explode violently at regular intervals.

An attempt was made in Cockatoo.. a half hearted attempt. They designed and built the "Bushfire House", which was first a concept display house, then a community centre, and eventually sold off I believe. Where it is is in the middle of what we called "Fireball Alley", and the walls were designed to deflect fireballs, and not provide any point of entry for flying embers. The design was so good that you would think the whole town would have been rebuilt to that design, right? Nup. Standard issue suburban brick veneers or timber kit homes. A few of us built in mud brick, but even then most didn't make any real effort to fireproof the place. If Ash Wednesday happened again next week, I reckon there'd be lucky to be twenty houses still standing afterwards.

And I'll bet its the same story in every other fire-affected community in the country. Which is the real tragedy in all this. We just don't learn from past mistakes.