Out Of The Australian Fires, A Heartwarming Story
By now, most of you have heard about the horrific brush fires which are currently blazing through Australia. Over 180 people have died as a result, and so far two people have been arrested for suspicion of arson related to most of the fires. Entire towns have been burnt, and the death toll rises every day:
Firefighters were today tackling fresh fires ripping through the Australian bush as the crisis showed no sign of abating.
The latest sites are near the historic town of Beechworth north-east of Melbourne.
Police said the fires – which include one huge blaze – had been deliberately started and warned residents to be prepared to flee.
Wind is so far keeping the flames away from houses.
‘It’s virtually impossible to believe that people are still lighting fires,’ said Victoria’s Premier John Brumby.
‘There seems little doubt that these were deliberately lit. I think words escape us all
when it comes to describing that deliberate arson.’Police hunting for arsonists responsible for the deaths of 181 people in Victoria’s bushfires said today they are close to making an arrest.
With 80 people still missing in the town of Marysville – described as a potential ‘Ground Zero’ – and more of the badly burned victims expected to die in hospital, the death toll is expected to rise to 300. [...]
The remains of most the missing are believed to be lying under the rubble of homes in the historic town of Marysville – described as a potential ‘Ground Zero’ – a few miles from another badly-hit community, Kinglake.
Firefighter John Munday believes that when searchers can start sifting through the remains of Marysville ‘the toll is going to be massive.’
Prime minister Kevin Rudd has said the arsonists should ‘rot in jail’.
If convicted, the firestarters should receive no mercy from justice, said Mr Rudd.
‘The laws of the state provide that they can be put away and put away for life,’ he said.
‘My view is they should be allowed to rot in jail. This is unspeakable murder on a mass scale.’
You can read the rest of the story at the link above, it’s too horrific for me to post here. The thought of all those poor people dying in a fire which could have been deliberately set is too depressing to think about. Men, women, children, the elderly, little babies, pets and animals, all gone. It would be bad enough if it were a natural disaster, but to think that this could a deliberate act is unconscionable. In some cases, they are ruling out arson, but the investigation has yet to be completed.
However, a small heartwarming story has emerged from the ashes. Two koala bears, Sam and Bob, have been rescued from the fire and have now formed a bond with one another which is helping them both. You might recognize Sam, the koala receiving a drink from a firefighter, but you might not know Bob, who was badly burned as well:
The story of Sam and her new boyfriend Bob emerged after volunteer firefighter Dave Tree used a mobile phone to film the rescue of the bewildered female.
She was found cowering in a burned out forest at Mirboo North, 90 miles southeast of Melbourne.
Photos and a video of Tree, 44, approaching Sam while talking gently to her, and feeding her water from a plastic bottle as she put her burned claw in his cold, wet hand quickly hit video sharing website YouTube.
But it was after reaching a wildlife shelter that Sam met and befriended Bob, who was saved by wildlife workers on Friday, two days before Sam.
Tree, who has been a volunteer firefighter for 26 years, said it was extremely rare to get so close to a koala so he asked his colleague Brayden Groen, 20, to film him.
‘You can how she stops and moves forward and looks at me. It was like a look saying “I can’t run, I’m weak and sore, put me out of my misery”,’ Tree said.
‘I yelled out for some water and I sat down with her and tipped the water up.
‘It was in my hand and she reached for the bottle then put her right claw into my left hand which was cold so it must have given her some pain relief and she just left it there. It was just amazing.’ [...]
She said Sam had suffered second degree burns to her paws and would take seven to eight months to recover while Bob had three burned paws with third degree burns and should be well enough to return to the bush in about four months.
‘They keep putting their arms around each other and giving each other hugs. They really have made friends and it is quite beautiful to see after all this. It’s been horrific,’ said Wood.
‘Sam is probably aged between two to four going by her teeth and Bob is about four so they have a muchness with each other.’
I’m sorry, maybe I’m an old softie, but that brought tears to my eyes, to see something good come out of so much devastation. I sincerely hope that there are more stories of hope and renewal come out of this terrible time.
I have a small experience with fire myself, and I know on a small scale what it is like to be caught up in it, to run into flames searching for an animal, to stand helplessly watching the flames and worry. Fortunately, everyone in my family, including both cats, made it out. However, I cannot fathom fire on this scale or magnitude, or what it feels like to see entire towns wiped out or entire families gone. I don’t pretend to even imagine the anguish of family members searching for their loved ones. Our thoughts and prayers are with all our Aussie friends during this time.
I’ve found two sites where you can donate to help the victims of the fires: The Australian Red Cross, and The Salvation Army in Australia. Both have links where you can donate online. If any of our readers know of any other sites, please let us know. I know we all are being hit with the credit crunch, and times are bad for us all, but it isn’t until you lose everything that you realize true riches do not come from money. I’m sure we can all find a little bit to help.
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Beautiful and touching. When I first saw those photos of Sam and Firefighter Tree, well it was pretty remarkable. Wild animals tend to avoid people, but even injured creatures get desperate and clearly his approach was just right.
As for the fires, ugh, it’s SHOCKING so many people have been killed. So sad. I’ve been to Australia (Sydney Olympics in 2000) and the people couldn’t be more incredible. Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oy, Oy, Oy.
Off to donate some money. Thanks k for putting your warm spin on this tragic story.
Comment by D — February 12, 2009 @ 12:53 pm
You are SO not a softie…
Comment by froose — February 12, 2009 @ 1:46 pm
This story breaks my heart! I’ve always had more compassion for animals than humans.
Comment by froose — February 12, 2009 @ 1:47 pm
Simply the sweetest photos ever.
Comment by Rachel — February 12, 2009 @ 1:56 pm
Hi glosslip
i’m an australia living in victoria and let me tell you, it’s just been horrific here.
stories of animals running awa whilst in flames have broken my heart, so many pets, native animals, and stock have been lost.
then of course there’s the human death toll, currently closing in on 200, but expected to get to over 300.
it’s really lovely to see someone talking about the goodness that’s come from it (not sure if you saw the crap on tmz, but jesus, a couple of days after the event is way too soon for jokes). also to see the links for donations. if people can only donate $5 i promise you – it does make a difference.
xx
Comment by tanya — February 13, 2009 @ 1:48 am
Hi Tanya!
I hope you and your family are safe during this terrible time. Please check in now and then and let us know how you are, how things are going. If you’d like, you can write me at brosnanfan (at) gmail (dot) com. Reading these stories are upsetting, to say the least, I can’t even imagine being there.
I did see the crap over at TMZ. In case some of you missed it, an insensitive jerk over there posted a story poking fun at Firefighter Tree and his little koala friend Sam. It was really disgusting. Wonder if they’ve got some 9/11 or 7/7 jokes they haven’t used yet, or maybe some funnies about Darfur or the earthquake in China.
Our prayers are with you right now. Please stay safe and keep us posted.
k
Comment by k — February 13, 2009 @ 9:27 am