Firestick Estate believes Australia is negligent about the level of prescribed burning required to mitigate extreme bushfires. Australian extreme bushfires are over 800 times more damaging than the average bushfires. They are 5 to 10 times bigger than many other countries. Australia’s annual multi-billion dollar bushfire fighting bureaucracies are primarily focused on putting water on fires, which works with controllable bushfires. With uncontrollable extreme bushfires, by definition water does not work and it’s application is unsafe for firefighters.

The only practical way to mitigate large extreme bushfires is with landscape level prescribed burning. Following future deaths from an unmitigated fuel driven extreme bushfire, those senior public officials responsible will be charged with involuntary manslaughter through negligence. With their jailing, Australia’s public bushfire insurance will almost certainly be nullified.

Extreme bushfire expert Dr Tolhurst, told a public lecture on 6 August 2009:

“Firefighting equipment, even aeroplanes dropping water, can stop a fire only when it’s energy output is 3500 to 4000 kilowatts per metre. At it’s peak the fire (a 2009 extreme bushfire) reached 38 times that intensity, 150,000 kilowatts per metre… More than 90% of the damage and life loss occurs...(in)...really big fires…We need to plan, research and design for really big fires, not the other 99%.(Associate Professor Kevin Tolhurst, Fire ecology & Management, Department of Forest & Ecosystem Science, University of Melbourne & Member of The Bushfire Cooperative Research Centre).

Letters 

(22/08/18)  To CFA Chair Mr Greg Smith AM.  Legal letter to CFA volunteer fire fighter Peter Clarkson,  “…jail sentences are likely for those State officials found to be negligent”.

(22/08/19)  From CFA Chair Mr Greg Smith AM. Receipt of Correspondence,  “…a further detailed response will be provided to you shortly”

negligence: Law the failure to exercise that degree of care which, in the circumstances, the law requires for the protection of those interests of other persons which may be injuriously affected by the want of such care (Macquarie, Australia’s National Dictionary, forth edition).