Fire 3: the human factor

Here’s a factor which should not be forgotten: human causes of fire. We’re not talking only about arson: carelessness or sheer ignorance are factors. The fire which seriously threatened the Canberra suburbs recently was caused by an army helicopter…And it was a helicopter involved in fire protection!

It’s unfair to blame the army for this, but there’s there’s something farcical about it, although we don’t think Canberra residents would have been laughing. The lesson of it, maybe, is that for increasing lengths of time throughout the year, past ways of doing things don’t work…that the way we do things has to change. Let’s see how the Royal Commission approaches that one.