Victorian Fires

[MrBurns]

We've never been asked to vote for this kind of change. I think the pollies are too afraid to ask us. Sentencing laws are ridiculous and I think that if you asked the ordinary person they would want at the most moderate a sentence that meant that some unhuman humans were locked up and the key thrown away.
(but think how many more prisons would need to be built)

The max sentence for this person will be 25 years if he's found guilty, that's guilty of starting a fire that killed 100 people, what do you have to do to get life in this country ?

So after 25 years they let him out ? LET HIM OUT ?

The law has no correlation to justice.

 

[kincella]

apparently he lit a fire in his backyard at least once a month.......no bells ringing for anyone....no fire brigade out there...no police.....no nothing ????
he is 39....not a teenager anymore....wonder how many other fires he lit...and got away with...
the one in albury...lit fires since he was about 10....did not catch him until about 25-30...never locked him up...back again lighting fires same place in 2005...have not kept up with the past 3 years....he makes sure he does it on the very high wind days

 

[Happy]

The max sentence for this person will be 25 years if he's found guilty, that's guilty of starting a fire that killed 100 people, what do you have to do to get life in this country ?

So after 25 years they let him out ? LET HIM OUT ?

The law has no correlation to justice.

Problem is that arsonist will not get up to 25 years for every life lost in fire as in some jurisdictions.

25 years for 10 or 30 lives makes life soo cheap, yet for some reason we consider mass murderer’s life so much more precious.

 

[Prospector]

Hey Sam, sorry not meaning to pick the firefighters at this horrid time. To be honest, if I choose to live in a place that is a bush fire risk I would hate to think that the CFA would risk their lives to save it in a bushfire. If I could not save my property I would not expect anyone else to try to do so either. Obviously they will learn more from what happened.

But then, I wouldn't live in an area that was so knowingly risky either.

 

[daisy]

Mr Burns,
I don't know. This is one of my soap box subjects. But don't ask Terry O'Gorman.

 

[MrBurns]

Mr Burns,
I don't know. This is one of my soap box subjects. But don't ask Terry O'Gorman.

I think the way crime and punishment is viewed is all wrong.

If you steal money , punishment.

If you are an arsonist, child molester, rapist and a few other things you're not just a naughty boy you're sick so you should stay in jail for the rest of your life or until someone can guarantee you will not re offend, no scrap the last one just leave them in jail.

Who for one minute doesn't think this bloke will light fires when he gets out ?

Stupid the think otherwise.

 

[sam76]

Hey Sam, sorry not meaning to pick the firefighters at this horrid time. To be honest, if I choose to live in a place that is a bush fire risk I would hate to think that the CFA would risk their lives to save it in a bushfire. If I could not save my property I would not expect anyone else to try to do so either. Obviously they will learn more from what happened.

But then, I wouldn't live in an area that was so knowingly risky either.

Thanks.

IMHO It's just too early to be blaming people for this mess.

But I fear the most reponsible entity at the end of all this will be the victims themselves.

(and I comend you for thinking of the risks before making a lifestyle decision)

 

[Calliope]

Mr Burns,
I don't know. This is one of my soap box subjects. But don't ask Terry O'Gorman.

Ah! Terry O'Gorman the great Civil Libertarian. But wait. Dare I suggest that as a criminal lawyer, well versed in the use of due process in getting acquittals for villains, he may be a little biased.

 

[daisy]

At the risk of sounding uncivilised there are times when I have said "I get the exterminators in for cockroaches and what's the difference?"
This whole issue frustrates me.

 

[MrBurns]

Ah! Terry O'Gorman the great Civil Libertarian. But wait. Dare I suggest that as a criminal lawyer, well versed in the use of due process in getting acquittals for villains, he may be a little biased.

Such lawyers are so close the the criminal world that they are part of it.

 

[Calliope]

IMHO It's just too early to be blaming people for this mess.

And it is an odds on bet that the Royal Commission will not be recommending that any charges of criminal negligence be laid.

Especially if it transpires that the State and Local Authorities are the main offenders.

 

[MrBurns]

And it is an odds on bet that the Royal Commission will not be recommending that any charges of criminal negligence be laid.

Especially if it transpires that the State and Local Authorities are the main offenders.

That will be the most carefully worded document since the 10 commandments.

Wont be finished till the end of next year so that gives them plenty of time to massage the result.

 

[kincella]

prospector...me too....
and luckily for me...grew up on a farm....had enough of the bush to last me a lifetime....sick to death of trees and hills....give me the city and the seaside any day... plus I feel safer in the city.....
a neighbour has a giant gum...everyday we have winds above 20kph...twigs and branches fall down...and if it came down it would endanger most homes around....think its over 100' high or more

however I know a few who are the opposite...they expect the firies to roll up and not only sound the sirens....but actually turn up to the house...
see it on tv almost daily....they said they were not warned...they said the expected to see the fire engine......well thats too late anyway....
but wait till they find out only 1200 trucks across Vic....and only one truck in town....
except in this last fire...the trucks were at another town...not their own....trying to battle..and losing their own homes....
was it kinglake or marysville....a fireman arrived back in town and rescued some people from safeway....sounded like a lone fireman...not a truck full ???

anyway, if the electricity it out ..there goes the telephone too....so the idea of listening to the abc for fire reports...only works if you have a battery radio

 

[Prospector]

anyway, if the electricity it out ..there goes the telephone too....so the idea of listening to the abc for fire reports...only works if you have a battery radio

Apparently not many people have them these days! We have too many blackouts in SA not to have one.

Back to the Commission; if this is to decide how buildings should be built in fire risk areas, I wonder if that means houses cannot be rebuilt until they have published their findings?

Cheers to you Sam, the CFA are just trying to do their best, dont get paid, and risk their lives. It is amazing to think that people will do this willingly.

I dont understand the way the Courts deal with people who light fires. We have several in Adelaide; if they are known to light fires then why are they free to roam?

 

[saiter]

How do they even know if someone lit the fire or not?
Is there some sort of hardcore evidence being presented? i.e. him/her being filmed lighting the fire.

 

[Prospector]

Saiter, when they caught a serial arsonist in SA who had lit many many fires, the fires were all lit in a particular way. It was quite unsual but dont want to spell it out on the internet. Kind of like the tag of the graffiti artist. Eventually, she a mother and wife made a mistake.

 

[kincella]

evidence yes....inflammant is proof...then a sighting...like with all the cameras on mobile phones today its too easy...photo of a biker, with can attached was out there on sunday or monday.... looked like a trail bike...not a harley davidson...
also a black ford rodeo, also suspicious.....and the red liught cameras pick up so much more...
photo of a biker...in the list of readers photos...riding past all the crashed cars...you could get his rego number easy
one arsonist...used to wear a big coat...and carried 30 ciggy lighters in the pockets...and carried a can.....hello...warning bells

 

[saiter]

Saiter, when they caught a serial arsonist in SA who had lit many many fires, the fires were all lit in a particular way. Kind of like the tag of the graffiti artist. Eventually, she a mother and wife made a mistake.

As in the tool used to start them or where they were lit?

 

[daisy]

On another note, and something that I’ve wanted to say for some time, I am full of respect and admiration for the members of the CFA, most of whom I understand are volunteers and have given their all in this.
I don’t understand the issues raised about the confusion between the control office and the actual people fighting at the front. I guess if there were problems, they were new ones in relation to this situation and will be addressed for future reference. What I do know is that scores of volunteer fire fighters have put themselves on the line and their personal needs second to do the absolute best they could in what was obviously a terrifying situation.

 

[Prospector]

As in the tool used to start them or where they were lit?

Both - all of the fires occurred in a country town in SA - when flying from Melbourne to Adelaide you would see smoke in this one spot, the earth is really blackened there, and sure enough, she would have lit another one. And the way she lit them. Have just searched and saw she lit 47 fires!