Melbourne has had a hot summer, with days on end above 30 degrees Celsius, and with no rain for months. There is no more grass left with out lawn just a dust bowl, even the trees are looking poorly.
I wasn't born in Australia, but immigrated here in 1988 with my husband Jim, and two elder children Cara and James. Before coming here I had see the amazing pictures of fires, jelly fish that kill, and my greatest fear ... snakes. Actually no my greatest fear was having natural gas cooking appliances! I know that sounds lame, but I was terrified that I'd have to light gas to cook our family dinner and was hugely relieved when our first home in Melbourne (a rental) was a townhouse surrounded by concrete and with electric cooking. It was a short reprieve since around 2 years later we brought our home, which had the dreaded gas. It's funny how you can get so wound up about something you feared simply because you had never experienced "it", in my case gas cooking.
And so yesterday fire came to the outer suburbs of Melbourne. Tinder dry grass leapt into flames (presumable because someone was careless) and caused a major headache with 500 fire fighters battling to protect homes, and business properties including Petrol Stations!
We have a son, who has an intellectual disability. He has a great love of fires. He has set various parts of our home on fire more than once. The first one was when he built a fire on top of a ducted gas heating vent (these are vents in the floor). It kind of made sense that he wanted heat to come out of the vent, and as the gas heating wasn't programed to be on at that time of the day he took charge and made it happen for himself. He kept on lighting fires in and around the home, and one morning while I was busy clearing up the kitchen he set fire tot he family room. The fire brigade had been to school, and he was very keen on everything to do with the excitement of fire. I looked out of the kitchen window to see him outside in the freezing cold. Beckoning him inside he refused to come, and so I went toward the back door, passing through the family room. The reason why he was outside was evident, he had evacuated to the letterbox, our meeting place in case of house fire, and was not to be budged. Inside the family room was ablaze with flames literally licking the ceiling, and engulfing an armchair. The bookcase nearby was smoking hot. On instinct I rushed to the laundry and just kept loading bucket after bucket of water on the blaze. It seemed like forever but finally it was doused. After that he took to lighting his fires in secret. He set fire to packets of food in the pantry (trying to cook?) and wardrobes. Every time the fire went out because he would close the door and thereby starve the fire of oxygen. I worry that he will be a fire bug in the future, but he is simply unable to learn that it is not Ok. We watch him like a hawk all summer, as does his school and the various groups that provide us with respite.
When I see someone arrested for setting a fire, chills go up my spine. Could that be our son in the future? What would become of him in prison?
We live in the East, and a good safe distance from yesterday's fire, but it was a reminder that even though our home is in a suburban setting, no one can be complacent about Fire, in this harsh, sunburnt country.
Today is cooler. A change came through last night, and so it will be a day to be super productive. With that said it is time to jump off the computer and get on with work.
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