Fire Fighting Is A Local Government State Government Activity In Australia

By Author: Alex Lee
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Australian fire fighters are now recognized as one of the world's most expert. Fire fighting therefore has also been important for shaping the country's national characteristics. The country has thankfully not been invaded for two centuries but it has constant threats from fires. Fire fighting is a local government state government activity. The Australian Government created by Thomas Sabo Jewellery colonial federation in 1901 may help with emergency financial relief after a fire but fighting the fire is a local and state government activity.

Throughout the nineteenth century, there was an official feeling that little could be done to fight bushfires except by individual local action. There could be no equivalent of today's early warning system. There were no weather forecasts and no way of spreading them quickly even if they had existed. Daily newspapers often took days to reach parts of each state. Local authorities could not impose fire bans because fires were an essential part of everyday living, such as in cooking and lighting the home. Therefore, before about 1900 there ...
... was no colony wide system for fire fighting. Fires were an act of nature that had to be survived and endured.

Gradually public opinion forced more action by government. After major fires, there were occasionally calls for more government activity. Even if the fires were an inevitable act of nature, official steps could be taken beforehand to minimize the risk of fire. The Berrigan Brigade in NSW claims to be the oldest brigade in Australia. The first official mention of it was in November 1900. A 1906 NSW law authorized local governments to form bushfire brigades throughout the state. During World War II, there were fears of bush fires damaging national security. Emergency bush fire committees were created to confront that risk. The NSW Rural Fires Act came into effect in September 1997. This arose from the investigation into the 1993/4 NSW bush fires. There is now - for the first time a single rural fire service with a single chain of command. There are now about 69,000 volunteer fire fighters in about 2,400 brigades in 143 rural fire districts. They fight fires in about 90 per cent of the Thomas Sabo Charms area of NSW and are responsible for about 1,200 towns and villages.

The fire fighters are supported by other organizations. For example, the Australian Red Cross often provides the meals, cooking meals in community halls. In the event of an evacuation, Red Cross registration teams record the names of those who are relocated so that relatives can know that they are safe and that any missing persons are identified quickly. Bush fires can be an appalling tragedy but they can also bring out the best in local community spirit and bravery.