Re: [Brin-l] Brin: Some stuff from Down Under
On 19/02/2009, at 4:54 AM, David Brin wrote: Charlie, you are all in our hope and prayers. A year ago, my kids were volunteering at shelters during the San Diego fires and my eldest and I helped staff a National Guard checkpoint. But we experienced nothing even remotely like what you describe. The Australian Method of building homes to resist fire and shelter in place worked well, where it was tried. But You lot have experienced its limits. Yes - it was totally unprecedented - the fire index here was set so 100 on the scale was the worst fire conditions the state experienced back in 1939. On 7th Feb 2009, the index was at 150 - 200 across Victoria. Nuts. I just removed one Eucalyptus tree and more will go. They are just too dangerous. Yeah, and if they're not on fire, they're dropping branches on you - there are a couple of varieties in Australia that are known as Widowmakers. One or two can be spectacular in a landscaped garden. A stand of them can be a liability in a fire-prone area as you point out. Enjoy your horticultural remodelling, and thanks for the good wishes. Charlie. ___ http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com
Re: [Brin-l] Brin: Some stuff from Down Under
On 19/02/2009, at 5:05 AM, Nick Arnett wrote: As you may know, I do a lot of volunteer work helping first responders cope with high-stress incidents - and this absolutely is one (or many). I'm curious what your wife's role is... She works as a Research Officer in the Crime Department of Victoria Police - she's a non-sworn public servant (ie not a police officer). During the unfolding of the scale of the disaster, she was working the phones helping allocate resources to the cops out at the myriad crime scenes. And, of course, just being exposed to the stories going round the office now she's back in her own area. but I mostly want to acknowledge that it is a really good idea to minimize re-exposure to the news, discussion and such. I almost never watch TV news, partly because it is too much like entertainment and partly because I end up dealing in real life with the stuff they report on. I watch some news - the actual news channels. Not the infotainment ones. Which is, sadly, nearly all the American news these days. I do check out Rachel Maddow now and again, though - she's very smart. I know that CISM - Critical Incident Stress Management - is practiced in Australia. I hope that your wife has ample opportunities to de-mobilize, defuse and debrief about all that has happened. Please know that our Bay Area CISM team is thinking of all the first responders in your country. Yeah. I believe there's counselling available. She's doing really well, all things considered - we've both had moments, but I'd be shocked if there's anyone in the state, maybe the country, that hasn't. Charlie. ___ http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com
Re: [Brin-l] Brin: Some stuff from Down Under
On Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 12:28 AM, Charlie Bell char...@culturelist.orgwrote: She works as a Research Officer in the Crime Department of Victoria Police - she's a non-sworn public servant (ie not a police officer). During the unfolding of the scale of the disaster, she was working the phones helping allocate resources to the cops out at the myriad crime scenes. And, of course, just being exposed to the stories going round the office now she's back in her own area. FYI., the big stressor is what we call OOC - out of control. Any large incident leaves people feeling that way, or helpless. People working the phones and radio often get hit the hardest because of the sense of not being able to do anything while listening to those on the front lines. I never appreciated how incredibly stressful it is to be a dispatcher until I got involved in CISM. I offer this not so you can ask her straight out if she was feeling helpless or out of control, but to let you know to listen for that and offer reassurance that that is often the hardest part and it is normal. By the way, people in that kind of position (remote, connected by phone or radio) very often have a delayed reaction (days, weeks, even months)... and are tempted to minimize their grief (yes, it's grief) because they weren't on-scene. One of the very big no-nos is making those comparisons. Whatever comes up for her and other folks touched by this, reassuring one another than no matter what it is -- trouble sleeping, intrusive memories, increased drinking, whatever -- is a normal response to an abnormal experience. Hope that's of some help. Nick ___ http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com
Re: [Brin-l] Brin: Some stuff from Down Under
On 20/02/2009, at 2:48 AM, Nick Arnett wrote: I offer this not so you can ask her straight out if she was feeling helpless or out of control, but to let you know to listen for that and offer reassurance that that is often the hardest part and it is normal. By the way, people in that kind of position (remote, connected by phone or radio) very often have a delayed reaction (days, weeks, even months)... and are tempted to minimize their grief (yes, it's grief) because they weren't on-scene. One of the very big no-nos is making those comparisons. Whatever comes up for her and other folks touched by this, reassuring one another than no matter what it is -- trouble sleeping, intrusive memories, increased drinking, whatever -- is a normal response to an abnormal experience. Hope that's of some help. It'll definitely be of help to people, and it's clear your experience has given you good tools. I also have a pretty good toolset, and mine told me to not worry about letting myself feel it all as it happened, because Claire would get hit later. She's in good hands. Charlie. ___ http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com
[Brin-l] Brin: Some stuff from Down Under
Hello fellow brinellers and Dr Brin. I'm mindful that co-listees with Culturelist will know that the bushfires in Victoria are VERY close to home for me and my wife. For the rest of you: Claire has been working in the Major Incident Room at Victoria Police during the bushfire crisis, and she's seeing and hearing stuff far worse than makes the public media. So much so that my wife really doesn't need to see stuff about the bushfires on social email lists. Hence, I'm posting a few things here on Brin-L, as she's not here and I think some local perspective might go further than the news does. Any fellow Australia residents who've been affected, forgive me if anything I post is too soon for you. My thoughts are of course with you. Right. The official death toll is now 201. The last death was a fireman from the ACT, in a firetruck who was hit by a falling tree bough while driving between fires. He was the first, and hopefully the last, firefighter to be killed during this particular firestorm. Of those 201 dead, I fortunately do not know any victims personally. But friends from my Melbourne Victory (soccer) supporting crowd have lost people they've known since school. As have students and colleagues of a teacher friend, and also Girl Guides that Claire knows - a pair from a troop not far from us lost their parents. There are very few people we know in the city that don't at least have 2nd degree grief. It's a huge event, because while Melbourne is a big city, it's a small town too and the interconnectedness here is higher than most people outside might understand. The thing people won't get is this: whole towns have been razed. Totally gone. The fires were 60m high in places, with embers landing up to 20km in front of the fire front. There's footage of the fire spreading up a ridgeline, and even folks familiar with bushfire defence are gobsmacked at the rate of advance. We witnessed a natural disaster on the scale of the Boxing Day Tsunami or the Argentinian mudslides, and in terms of the effect on our emergency services and the population, it's been compared to the World Trade Centre attacks (and that may seem like hyperbole, but think of the vast geographic spread of this disaster, compared with the total population of the region and the available police and emergency crews... make sense now?). If it weren't for a fortunate cool change and wind change on the afternoon of Saturday 7 February, we'd have been fighting fires in the suburbs of Melbourne and maybe even into my own suburb. This is a terrifying thought. There are still several fires on the go in Victoria. The town of Healesville, about an hour from the Melbourne CBD, has been on full alert for 10 days now, and they're feeling the strain. So, I hope after this, those who crosspost to Culture will get why some are reluctant to have discussions on esoterica and meta-causes right now. And for the Brin-L crew, I hope I've given a tiny window into the stress of life in Victoria during this crisis. We've been dealing as best we can, but it's very hard right now. Not least for the 7500 persons or so that are homeless now. Refugees in modern Australia... a bit nuts, huh. Charlie. ___ http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com
Re: [Brin-l] Brin: Some stuff from Down Under
Charlie, you are all in our hope and prayers. A year ago, my kids were volunteering at shelters during the San Diego fires and my eldest and I helped staff a National Guard checkpoint. But we experienced nothing even remotely like what you describe. The Australian Method of building homes to resist fire and shelter in place worked well, where it was tried. But You lot have experienced its limits. I just removed one Eucalyptus tree and more will go. They are just too dangerous. Good luck. david brin___ http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com
Re: [Brin-l] Brin: Some stuff from Down Under
On Wed, Feb 18, 2009 at 7:02 AM, Charlie Bell char...@culturelist.orgwrote: Hello fellow brinellers and Dr Brin. I'm mindful that co-listees with Culturelist will know that the bushfires in Victoria are VERY close to home for me and my wife. For the rest of you: Claire has been working in the Major Incident Room at Victoria Police during the bushfire crisis, and she's seeing and hearing stuff far worse than makes the public media. So much so that my wife really doesn't need to see stuff about the bushfires on social email lists. As you may know, I do a lot of volunteer work helping first responders cope with high-stress incidents - and this absolutely is one (or many). I'm curious what your wife's role is... but I mostly want to acknowledge that it is a really good idea to minimize re-exposure to the news, discussion and such. I almost never watch TV news, partly because it is too much like entertainment and partly because I end up dealing in real life with the stuff they report on. I know that CISM - Critical Incident Stress Management - is practiced in Australia. I hope that your wife has ample opportunities to de-mobilize, defuse and debrief about all that has happened. Please know that our Bay Area CISM team is thinking of all the first responders in your country. Nick ___ http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com
