A heart-felt outcry from an Australian volunteer firefighter who says: Enough is enough!
Rural firefighter’s heartbreaking plea
A rural firefighter has issued a heartbreaking plea on social media, taking on environmental policies and saying “enough is enough”.
news.com.au, November 12, 2019
As catastrophic fires burn across Queensland and New South Wales — with experts warning that the worst is yet to come on Tuesday — rural firefighter Tyson Smith has issued a heartbreaking plea on Facebook.
The post, which has been shared more than 2600 times and liked by over 1600 people, asks how much more it will take before the government acknowledges current fires are the result of a larger issue.
Three people have died in NSW, and 200 homes and sheds lost to bushfires in both states over the weekend.
“How many more homes?” wrote Smith. “How many more acres of destroyed forest and bushland? How many more lives? How much more do we need to endure until you Muppets realise you f**ked up?”
Smith, who volunteers his time as a rural firefighter in Queensland, said that every time there is a disaster like this, “thousands of people like myself drop what we are doing and go to work. We put ourselves in harm’s way so that another family can have a house to sleep in.”
The “authority figures that have stood for environmental protection” over the past five years are “directly responsible for this devastation”, Smith wrote.
“The fuel loading we are seeing out on the ground is ridiculous. We are looking at 5-10 years of growth, this fuel source is making these fires untouchable, we can’t even get near them to fight them.”
Green Jihad 
only one problem with this. rural fire services have the responsibility to backburn etc. They are a State government responsibility.
Is this person seriously suggesting so called environmentalists have control over the department and government?
No person in charge of the various rural fire services has ever endorsed this firefighter’s ‘view’.
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Yes I think that is exactly what he is saying and he may be largely correct. Environmentalists dominate California politics in the United States and the state regularly is affected by wildfires thanks to environmentalists who sue or lobby governments in the state to stop the clearing of dead trees and other brush that act as fuel for fires.
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No that does not occur here.
At best his views are ignorant. It is very hard to back burn when it is so dry. The smoke is poisonous and the control can be problematic. ever since the WA experience where houses were burned because of a lack of control of a back burn things have changed.
The other problem I gather was the few times it rained was just before a back burn
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The article states that environmental authorities reduced planned burns. If so, that means the vegetation was such that if a fire was started it was sure to spread.
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So please enlighten me, the forests in Australia have not been cleared “of dead matter and another that can serve to make fires easier”. Am I understanding well? Was this lack of cleanliness not sloppy by the authorities – central government, federal or local governments – but because it was part of some kind of environmental policy?
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Yes. Here is a policy analysis that was done during 2004 by the Institute for Public Affairs. On page 10 of the report it points squarely to environmentalist policies that had (and probably still are) in place for years prior to a major wildfire incident that took place back then. https://ipa.org.au/wp-content/uploads/archive/IPAbackgrounder16-2.pdf
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The IPA is an organisation which has little credibility.
Read this by people who actually study the topic
https://theconversation.com/a-surprising-answer-to-a-hot-question-controlled-burns-often-fail-to-slow-a-bushfire-127022
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Very interesting. But she has a right to her opinion and that is all it is. The IPA study goes into hard data.
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Except the IPA alleges the ‘greens’ or ‘greenies’ are stopping such back burns,
As I keep on repeating they are neither in any State Government nor have any influence on any state RFS.
Just remember within 20 years we have had 2 once in a hundred year droughts and also we know the record high temperature to record cold temperatures between 2000 and 2014 was a ratio of 12 to 1.
Mind you the ex fire chiefs said all this previously.
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If you are referring to the 2004 report, that is not what it said. The report also acknowledges the conclusions of other groups (including environmentalists) that blame the weather and even people who used campfires. The fact is, and as the report points out, Australia is a fire-prone continent. However, it is the policies environmentalists advocate and politicians mainly on the Left implement of ecological inaction or the precautionary principle applied to fire mitigation that have largely contributed to wildfire or brush fire outbreaks. You have a right to your opinion but not your own facts.
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except the ‘left’ have not influenced these policies. As I continually repeat they have not been in Government and nor has any Rural Fire Commissioner complained that ‘greenies’ have help up any policy they wish to implement..
I was actually wrong.
The was a record hazard reduction this year in NSW. It doesn’t matter when you are in such a severe drought and it is so dry as we have seen.
The fire season is now much longer thanks to climate change. This was easily predicted as the 23 ex fire chiefs did.
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Fire Commissioners and fire chiefs are as much political offices as they are commanders of fire suppression and investigation agencies. The firefighter in question knows the truth because he is on the front line and knows the real reason for brush or forest fire outbreaks. You got triggered because he told the truth and can’t stand it when someone who does. Rather than admit the facts you instead attack people like him and venues or mediums (such as this) that have the gall to do so.
As far as your contention that the Left have not influenced the policies in question, not only do I not believe you and the evidence of other places (such as California) debunk your assertions.
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Hah, a mere firefighter who is a volunteer and thus does not have the time knows more than his boss.
Your facts are opinions based on a discredited publication which is way too old. Fireseasons are much longer for a start and hazard reduction is not the be all and end all for a start.
You do know one backburn got out of control and burned down houses.
We have had all the experts of bushfires on the media since before the fire season started and none I repeat none have backed up this ONE firefighter.
So show me your evidence the ‘left’ have influenced.firefighting methods these days.
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Yes someone who actually works in the field doesn’t know what they are talking about, huh? Their superiors who are part of the Left’s anointed class should be given preference over those worthless underlings.
The evidence supporting my contention is on these pages demonstrating how environmentalists are ruining California with their litigation and policies being implemented in many of the state’s municipalities. It isn’t limited to California but the Golden State is the most obvious example.
It is also noteworthy how you move the goal posts after being successfully answered since you deny the obvious. Because it doesn’t match your vision of how you think things ought to be you ignore it and cling to your vision. Keep reaching for straws. You’ll grab one eventually.
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I am going to educate you.
[Articles removed]
I am wondering how Liberal Governments appoint the left’s anointed class.
The fact that when liberals oust Labor governments there is no purge nor a propaganda attack on previous methods show just how ill informed your views are.
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Because the Left is the Left and they will infiltrate any political faction in order to achieve and maintain power. Australia’s Liberals had one with Malcolm Turnbull and, fortunately, he was kicked out. In the United States they are known as “Never Trumpers”. The fact that you would attempt to “educate” me demonstrates the weakness of your position and reveals your religious adherence to your ideology. That also includes seeking out news sources to confirm your bias and intolerance of people who disagree with you.
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Furthermore, it should be noted the ABC has been cited by the author on various articles. I will not allow you to use my website to further your agenda.
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