Melbourne MICA
Forum Captain
- 392
- 13
- 18
I thought readers may be interested to hear a perspective on the recent but ongoing fire catastrophe here in Victoria, Australia. I work in Melbourne but was fortunate not to be directly involved in the fires which were centred to the east and north east of the city and elsewhere in country Victoria. Having said this the main burns centre, The Alfred Hospital, which did a superb job catering for their workload ultimately having 20 burns patients with 9 in ICU as critical, is my home base and I felt obligated to at least offer moral support to the staff inside the A&E and to assist in any way that we could.
Comments like "war zone" and "hell on earth"sum up the situation pretty well.
Here are a few facts and observations that may provide insight.
The most climactic period of the fires was over the course of last Saturday. Having experienced a heat wave the preceeding week in which temperatures, even in metropolitan Melbourne reached on average 43 deg C for four days in a row, on the Saturday tempertaures reached 46 deg C. This was accompanied by winds from the north (our hottest) gusting up to 90-100kph.
As it was the heat wave the previous week had claimed about 60 lives from heat stroke. I personally attended about 20 patients with heat stress or stroke, RSI'ing one and just avoiding the need for two others. Pt core temperatures were around the 41 deg C mark with some ambos reporting patients with temps as high as 43 deg C.
The ambulance service was overwhelmed with cases at one point there being 70 cases on the despacth computer for which there were no ambulances available to respond. We had managers in sedans, private transport non emerg crews helping, even ungraduated students and off duty ambos paired up or working on extra private contractor cars just so there were stretchers to put people on and transport them somehwere. Every hospital in Mlebourne was bursting at the seems all going on ambulance bypass at some point during each day of the heatwave.
The bulk of the deaths from the heat wave were where you would expect them - amongst the poor and elderly typically in small apartments with no adequate cooling or ventilation.
With all of us physically and emotionally exhausted from this horrendous week it was with great foreboding our meteorologists and fire experts warned that conditions were such that a fire castastrophe was on the cards that Saturday. They were right.
From the hottest week in Melbourne since weather records were kept in the 1800's we were to experience the worst fire conditions ever seen in Australian history.
Reports of major fires, ultimately there were 27 separate blazes around the state - began coming in very early on Saturday morning. The first casualties were already happening by 0900hrs as the fires overwhelmed all control measures with a ferocity, intensity and speed never seen before and unlikely to be seen again in this country. Having said this, climatologists are seeing clear connections with global warming phenomena and the sheer magnitude and strength of these fires that bodes ill for the future.
Within just 12 hours the death toll had gone from 6 at 0900hours to 40 by early evening with still more deaths expected. Within three days the number of deaths is reported at 181 with a figure of 300+ almost certain given many fires are still going, many homes have not been examined and many people are still reported missing. We watched and listened to media reports aghast at how quickly the death toll just kept on rising, at times seeming to be almost every few minutes. 6, 13, 25, 40, 75, 108, 135, 181.......on and on.
Over 500,000 hecatres of land has also been raised to ashes, almost 2000 homes destroyed in some instances whole towns all but burned off the face of the earth. About 5000 Victorians are now homeless. At one point there were 30,000 firefighteres directly engaged in containing the fires being drawn in from every state even form some overseas services including yours in the US.
The worst is over now though a number of large fires remain with weather conditions the key factor as to when and if these fires will be eventually brought under complete control.
For those who may not be aware, bush fires in Australia are a natural and common phenomonem going back millions of years with many native plant species for example that actually only germinate when heated during bush fires. Recovery of vegetation and other wildlife is rapid and abundant.
However two new elements are impacting these otherwise not unexpected developments. Climate change and arsonists.
The largest single blaze that broke out on Saturday and which, by itself , claimed around 100 lives was man made - it was deliberately lit. At least three individuals are in custody, one charged and a number of others being sought by Police. These people are fortunate that Australia has rule of law and none of the lynch mobs of past history. I would have rated their time on this earth at about 5 minutes had it been 1850.
About $100 million dollars has already been raised in public appeals for the survivors and aussies are rallying around their country men and women. Our leaders and citizens give thanks to the many nations and their kind and generous citizens who have lent their support, their prayers and their good hearts.
It goes without saying that everyone here wishes this clamity had never happened but we are all made better by the struggle, by the suffering and through the bonding together that such adversity begets.
With all that is going on in the world that makes our hearts heavy and the burden seem unendurable, in the end, all people are trully decent and care for their own kind.
Mlebourne MICA
Comments like "war zone" and "hell on earth"sum up the situation pretty well.
Here are a few facts and observations that may provide insight.
The most climactic period of the fires was over the course of last Saturday. Having experienced a heat wave the preceeding week in which temperatures, even in metropolitan Melbourne reached on average 43 deg C for four days in a row, on the Saturday tempertaures reached 46 deg C. This was accompanied by winds from the north (our hottest) gusting up to 90-100kph.
As it was the heat wave the previous week had claimed about 60 lives from heat stroke. I personally attended about 20 patients with heat stress or stroke, RSI'ing one and just avoiding the need for two others. Pt core temperatures were around the 41 deg C mark with some ambos reporting patients with temps as high as 43 deg C.
The ambulance service was overwhelmed with cases at one point there being 70 cases on the despacth computer for which there were no ambulances available to respond. We had managers in sedans, private transport non emerg crews helping, even ungraduated students and off duty ambos paired up or working on extra private contractor cars just so there were stretchers to put people on and transport them somehwere. Every hospital in Mlebourne was bursting at the seems all going on ambulance bypass at some point during each day of the heatwave.
The bulk of the deaths from the heat wave were where you would expect them - amongst the poor and elderly typically in small apartments with no adequate cooling or ventilation.
With all of us physically and emotionally exhausted from this horrendous week it was with great foreboding our meteorologists and fire experts warned that conditions were such that a fire castastrophe was on the cards that Saturday. They were right.
From the hottest week in Melbourne since weather records were kept in the 1800's we were to experience the worst fire conditions ever seen in Australian history.
Reports of major fires, ultimately there were 27 separate blazes around the state - began coming in very early on Saturday morning. The first casualties were already happening by 0900hrs as the fires overwhelmed all control measures with a ferocity, intensity and speed never seen before and unlikely to be seen again in this country. Having said this, climatologists are seeing clear connections with global warming phenomena and the sheer magnitude and strength of these fires that bodes ill for the future.
Within just 12 hours the death toll had gone from 6 at 0900hours to 40 by early evening with still more deaths expected. Within three days the number of deaths is reported at 181 with a figure of 300+ almost certain given many fires are still going, many homes have not been examined and many people are still reported missing. We watched and listened to media reports aghast at how quickly the death toll just kept on rising, at times seeming to be almost every few minutes. 6, 13, 25, 40, 75, 108, 135, 181.......on and on.
Over 500,000 hecatres of land has also been raised to ashes, almost 2000 homes destroyed in some instances whole towns all but burned off the face of the earth. About 5000 Victorians are now homeless. At one point there were 30,000 firefighteres directly engaged in containing the fires being drawn in from every state even form some overseas services including yours in the US.
The worst is over now though a number of large fires remain with weather conditions the key factor as to when and if these fires will be eventually brought under complete control.
For those who may not be aware, bush fires in Australia are a natural and common phenomonem going back millions of years with many native plant species for example that actually only germinate when heated during bush fires. Recovery of vegetation and other wildlife is rapid and abundant.
However two new elements are impacting these otherwise not unexpected developments. Climate change and arsonists.
The largest single blaze that broke out on Saturday and which, by itself , claimed around 100 lives was man made - it was deliberately lit. At least three individuals are in custody, one charged and a number of others being sought by Police. These people are fortunate that Australia has rule of law and none of the lynch mobs of past history. I would have rated their time on this earth at about 5 minutes had it been 1850.
About $100 million dollars has already been raised in public appeals for the survivors and aussies are rallying around their country men and women. Our leaders and citizens give thanks to the many nations and their kind and generous citizens who have lent their support, their prayers and their good hearts.
It goes without saying that everyone here wishes this clamity had never happened but we are all made better by the struggle, by the suffering and through the bonding together that such adversity begets.
With all that is going on in the world that makes our hearts heavy and the burden seem unendurable, in the end, all people are trully decent and care for their own kind.
Mlebourne MICA
