My third Nerd Scribe substack post is a dissection of a news story I wrote about the ongoing drama of who actually owns the New South Wales Rural Fire Service's enormous fleet of fire-fighting vehicles, which I covered for The Saturday Paper last year.
https://biancanogrady.substack.com/p/who-wants-to-own-the-nsw-rural-fire
#bushfire #firefighting #RuralFireService

Yesterday around this time we had a grass fire on our farm. It was caused by a dry lightening strike.
Everything is ok now.
We had a water tanker and hoses (our own) and the local rural fire brigade and their big water tanker (with big hoses) to help us put it out.
If you don't have a fire plan at your place, think about it and make one. In NSW some (maybe all) RFS brigades will help with this if necessary.
Do it now, don't wait for another 2019-20.

#RFS #RuralFireService #NSW #Bushfire #Grassfire #Storms #Lightening 🌩️ 🔥 🌩️ 🔥 🌩️ 🔥 🌩️ 🔥 🌩️ 🔥 🌩️ 🔥 🌩️ 🔥

The third piece I'm particularly proud of this year was this one for The Saturday Paper about the looming showdown between local and state governments in NSW (Australia) about who exactly owned the so-called 'Red Fleet'; the enormous number of trucks and equipment used by the #RuralFireService (the largest volunteer #firefighting force in the world) to fight #bushfires .
By some quirk of legislative history, this vital equipment is vested to local council books, but they don't want it there and for the past few years - possibly longer - have refused to include them in their financial accounting.
But the equipment is used by the RFS, supported by money from a specific fund within the state govt's Treasury, so councils were questioning why they had to account for them.
There was a lot of myth, misinformation and misunderstanding to cut through, not to mention getting stonewalled by the state government.
https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/politics/2022/09/24/stalemate-over-rural-fire-fleet (paywalled)

Outside, on a nice warm day, listening to lorikeets squawk and thunder rolling past, I hear sirens whooping. No drama this time, it's the next town's rural fire service (volunteers) driving Santa along every street. My town's RFS drove him round last weekend, and have done for over 35 years.

A few changes over the years
- Santa rides safely in the cab, not standing on the back
- Santa no longer throws lollies to waiting children
- the once famous but now infamous Rolf Harris is no longer on the playlist 😱

Santa's drive by and buying our xmas tree from the RFS are two of my favourite traditions of the season. I hope they continue to have a quiet summer.

#bluemountainsnsw
#australianchristmas
#tradition
#RFS
#volunteers
#ruralfireservice