January 22, 2008
2007 Firefighter Fatalities
- 115 on-duty firefighter deaths in 2007
- Firefighters lost in 33 States
- 54 died of heart attacks or strokes
- 10 died fighting wildland fires
- 19 caught or trapped in structure fires
- 20% of fatalities were from responding to or returning from incidents
- Lack of seat belt use contributed to total
- 64% of fatalities occurred while performing emergency duties
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Labels: LODD
January 13, 2008
Devilish Flames WhirlingThrough NE Tasmania
"Firefighters are racing to combat a major bushfire burning out of control and threatening a small town on Tasmania's north-east tip.
The fire, estimated to have burned more than 200 hectares of forest, began about 1pm Sunday near Ericksons Road at Goshen, north-east of St Helens, Tasmania Fire Service (TFS) spokesman Shane Batt said. "The fire is burning out of control. It has jumped the Tasman Highway and is encroaching on the town of Priory," he told AAP.
Fire crews have been sent to Priory to support units already on the scene and a helicopter has been sent to try to define the boundaries of the blaze, although the area is blanketed by thick smoke."
Tasmania Fire Service has a nice interactive fire map of ongoing fires. Check it out!
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Labels: Australian Bushfires