We have had a bad few days ......... I wrote this the morning hoping to get some media interest but no luck ............ Ocean Farms - the forgotten community People living at Ocean Farms rural residential estate are lucky to be alive after State Alert failed to notify them during Monday night when a fire came dangerously close their community and it was feared may over run us. People living in Lancelin received State Alert notification around Midnight but at Ocean Farms the closest community to the fire, we slept on oblivious to the extreme danger we were in. By the time State Alert finally got around to sending warmings to Ocean Farms residents over 7 hours later the fire had been contained. On Monday night we checked the FESA site and as the Alert said the fire was 20km away and travelling away from us we went to bed. We believed State Alert would contact us if the situation changed and became potentially life threatening. Tuesday morning we were alarmed to hear a Fire Watch Alert for us on ABC radio, but stating that the fire was contained. A check of FESA web site revealed that at 2am the situation had been dire with the fire expected to reach us before 7am. We contacted neighbours and enacted our fire plan by securing livestock and starting to wet down. Smoke was quite thick but by 7.30 was clearing and we began to relax and attend to our normal chores. Around 7.30 the phone rang with a recorded message from State Alert. Phone calls with neighbours revealed that by then we were in no immediate danger and the message should have gone out during the night!!! As the day went on people who had been out there fighting the fire revealed how they had serious fears that Ocean Farms would be lost. We are very grateful for their efforts but angry and disappointed that we were not warmed by State alert. This is not the first time our community has been treated like second grade citizens. On Feb 11th 2009 (4 days after Black Saturday) our lives were put on the line when the army refused to cancel live fire training just 5 km away in the Lancelin DTA, on a day that we believe would now be classed as Catastrophic. The temperature locally was expected to be well over 40C and there was a strong wind warning for winds from the NW which would have driven any fire straight to us is minutes. A Vehicle ”A Movement in Paddocks Ban” was in place but it seems the army is above the law. So that is twice now that we have been lucky despite being disregarded or forgotten – we can only hope our luck holds because it seems our community of approx 200 people are “a forgotten community”
um, I understand that there's lives at risk, and I don't want to belittle the huge importance, but how long ago did such a system not even exist? Maybe teething problems?
the problem is before the system existed the cops would have come arround door to door or the local Fire brigade may have rung arround or even driven round the mainroad with the fire siren going ( all have been used inprevious fires ) but this time they thought State Alert would notify us and if its teething troubles how did they manage to alert Lancelin where phone numbers have the same prefix
FESA couldn't organise a puddle in a storm hello frosty FESA couldn't organise a puddle in a storm as a volunteer firey, i came to this conculsion. you are correct about what they would have done back then...before the system got automated.... you would need to draw on other networks to provide the service, which they would....if the system let the service organisations know, which it doesn't. and so rolls along the disintegration of all we'd come to expect from society. regards, kimbo
Geeze we are devistated to also be forgotten by the imfamous Kimbo Parker ! and even more so to be called Man cause this frosty is a woman !! and also devistated cause I cant work out how to add smiles !!!!