Lucky homeowner reveals heroic effort of neighbour that fought off devastating bushfires...

Daily Mail (Australia/UK) ^ | 7th January 2015 | Heather McNab

[naturalman1975]

An Adelaide man has told of the incredible heroism of his neighbours who worked together to stop the raging bushfire that came within two metres of destroying his family home.

.....

While Simon was waiting to hear whether his house was safe, Barry was working to save not only his own house, but those around him.

.....

Simon called Gary and asked him to race up to his house and convince Barry to leave, as he was starting to worry that his friends were putting their lives at risk for his property.

.....

The fire had come within two metres of Simon's home, completely destroying his 15-hectare hobby farm and vineyard but stopping just short of his house thanks to the efforts of his neighbours.

'My home was an untouched island in the middle of a burnt wasteland. Plants just outside the door were burnt to a crisp, my fences were all gone, everything was burnt but the house,' he said.

.....

'We are all made to do different things at different times, and these men were embodying that need and the spirit of mateship,' Simon said.

'It's a thing that you get in the country that you don't get in the city, where people may not even know their next door neighbours. These guys have helped me out on countless occasions, selflessly protecting and checking my property,' he said.

'These friends of mine, they are real heroes. Their actions saved my house.'

However, Barry said that his behaviour was what he thought anyone would do for a friend, and that he didn't consider his actions out of the ordinary.

[naturalman1975]

Bushfires are terrible - but they bring out some of the great moments in some people.

[Zhang Fei]

Stateside, environmentalists have prevented the harvesting of lumber that later contributed to wildfires. Is there a similar phenomenon down under?

[naturalman1975]

Yes - not sure if it applies in this case, but it does happen here. They have also been known to prevent backburning that would create better firebreaks at times.

[BobL]

“Lucky homeowner reveals heroic effort of neighbour that fought off devastating bushfires...”

After Bush-41 and then Bush-43, we could sure use him to fight-off Jeb. We DO NOT need anymore Bush’s.

[proxy_user]

I have often wondered if it would be possible to come up with a simple device that could cover a house with foam in a few minutes. I’m sure there’d be a market.

[Balding_Eagle]

A similar thing happened about 10 years ago near Woodland Park Colorado.

A US Forest Service worker, angered by a lost love IIRC, started a forest fire that burned hundreds of thousands of acres.

Naturally, while it was burning a number of homes were threatened.

One group of neighbors banded together, armed themselves with rifles and shotguns to fight off the Sheriff, US Forest Service, and the local Fire Department.

After a tense showdown, the enemies of the neighborhood retreated, and left them alone to fight the fire.

They saved all of their houses.

[publius911]

One group of neighbors banded together, armed themselves with rifles and shotguns to fight off the Sheriff, US Forest Service, and the local Fire Department.

I have often wondered why that has never happened more often in the past, but earnestly hope it happens more often in the future.

Environmentalists... Brownshirts who exploit the concept of "service to others," to control, to bully and to intimidate. No one, but no one, with any delusion of power over others, has the right to prevent any free persons to do everything including risking his life to protect his family, his neighborhood and his community. But then there are these, who seek employment to satisfy their need to control others:

"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their consciences.” -- C. S. Lewis

And what better way to enjoy it than to wear a badge, backed up (theoretically) by the total might of the national military?

[KC Burke]

They already make them..
see here for only one example:
http://www.consumerfireproducts.com/portable-foam-systems.html

[KC Burke]

and another
http://firebreakpro.com/wildfire-suppression

[publius911]

Stateside, environmentalists have prevented the harvesting of lumber that later contributed to wildfires. Is there a similar phenomenon down under?

There is an alarming amount of acreage in Northern California that I know personally about which is monumental potential waste of natural resources just waiting to go up in smoke to satisfy the small percentage of the population which are insane, neurotic and self-important to a fault.
The cost of housing (lumber) has quintupled, or worse, as a result. To say nothing of the wildlife habitat affected. The rationalizations are absurd, and the enabling, ignorant legislators are generally unaffected by the consequences.

Just a casual drive along the narrow, dangerous and white knuckle drive between Garberville and Shelter Cove, reveals hundreds of thousands of acres along the route containing tree coverage so thick that it's a wonder that any survive at all in the choking environment.

And it doesn't matter if the cause of the eventual fire is natural or man made, the results will be spectacularly bad.

And that tiny ignorant minority will in no way feel the tiniest bit of regret, responsibility or remorse.

All the result of the fatal combination of do-goodism, egalitarianism and idiocracy.

[mitch5501]

No it's not the case here.

A lot of the scrub is inaccessible and a lot of it is state pine forest which is logged regularly.I'ts very hilly terrain,lots of gullys and valleys and we've had 40c and strong winds fanning the fires.

The local and interstate CFS has done a stirling job of bringing it under control though there are still many areas burning which cannot be accessed by anything other than water bomber aircraft.

In the last couple of hours it has started to bucket rain though the accompanying lightening could easily start more fires.

Most of the roads through there have been closed due to fallen and falling trees.One CFS unit and one police vehicle have already been flattened by falling trees...so far.

My hats off to the many CFS volunteers (local and interstate)and police out there in 40+ degrees rescuing homes,saving pets and stock (though many have perished) and fighting the fires.

One boarding kennel went up in flames and about half of the dogs and cats perished.

A terrible time but thank God for the rain today!