12 September 2009

Huh? National fire warning system? Who? Us?

| johnboy
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The Canberra Times has the less than reassuring news that despite NSW, Western Australia, South Australia and Victoria all signing up for a new national bushfire warning system we still haven’t figured out what we’re doing.

    “a spokesman for ACT Emergency Services Minister Simon Corbell said yesterday that a decision would be announced next week.”

Let us pray that for once we just do what the others are doing. Even in the vanishingly unlikely event we were to come up with a better system, we’re better off being part of the national standard simply to make sure everyone’s on the same page come the day the sky turns black.

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I believe that having a National SMS system is better where every mobile phone within a certain radius picks up a warning message. Now while I don’t 100% know how the new system works, but from what I’ve read I could be in New Zealand & have a SMS warning me to evacuate as a fire storm is approaching in the next few hours. The thing is the fire is attacking my house in Canberra.

An addition to this system could be that the one presenter takes over every radio frequency & every TV station in the affected area. I don’t really care if someone is half way through watching a movie only to have the channel change to emergency warning. But most people would then hear the message. This would have to also include pay TV channels as if they are watching one of these channels, they don’t cut to ad breaks.

What we need is for everyone to be well informed if they are in danger. That way people can make the right decision as wether to stay or go. If you choose o ignore the message a die, well good for you. If you abide by the message & you live but loose your property, I feel sorry for you.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Stanhope ignores this latest fire initiative. After all, he has form in this regard.

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