PROUD OF OUR EMERGENCY WORKERS

I am a Kiwi; I call New Zealand my place of birth and my home.   Growing up in New Zealand earthquakes were the norm, we had emergency kits ready and dealt with them if they hit.  Luckily for me I never had to suffer through the aftermath of a large earthquake.  Small tremors were more than enough for me to develop a healthy respect for the power of Mother Nature.  I cried as friends, family and the community I lived in as a Uni student were dealt the devastating earthquake that destroyed the beautiful city of Christchurch and her surrounding towns.  I watched as TV images showed buildings I knew smashed on the sidewalk and those ever so brave men and woman of the emergency services risking everything in the endeavour to help others. 

 I am also a little bit Australian – my adopted home for 11 years is a beautiful country.  I am lucky to have seen so much of it.  My little brother has also adopted Australia as his home and lives in one of the most beautiful parts, the Blue Mountains.   As I sit and type this I am chatting to my little brother, he lives in a small town which at the moment is situated between two huge bush fires.  Once I got hold of him, discovered he was still there and had not evacuated I set about giving him a lecture to be safe and leave early.  He assures me he is fine, the wind is changing and currently the fires are not heading towards him.  As glad as I am for his current state of safety (which is dependent on the whim of the weather), my concern turns to those men and woman on the front line.  Houses are burning, acre after acre of beautiful country is being destroyed and there can be no doubt that the men and woman of the emergency services and RFS have left their own families to fight these fires.  Don’t even get me started on the idiots who think arson is a fun way to pass the time, standing back and watching as their handy work destroys lives and communities.    There are currently 100 fires burning across NSW which means 100’s of emergency workers are at risk.  The emergency workers will be the last to leave those areas where others are evacuated from they will stay until the fire is out or is beyond all control.  They will see horrific things as communities’ burn, as wild life is decimated, they may suffer injury and the sad reality is that they may pay the ultimate price.

 

I want to thank every emergency worker that is currently ensuring the safety of my little brother and the communities that are suffering through this bushfire season.  I want to acknowledge the workers who without hesitation gear up and race into any situation, regardless of it been an earthquake ruined city, a flooded town or a bushfire disaster.  You are the brave men and woman that we should all be so very proud of.  I take my hat off to you all, be safe.

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