Stupid, vile and dangerous: all of the idiotic things people have done during the NSW total fire ban
Authorities are overworked and fed up of the “sheer stupidity” of some people amid “catastrophic” bushfires, after numerous people were caught fling drones, lighting fires and ignoring advice from firefighters.
Civil Aviation Safety Authority spokesman Peter Gibson slammed the use of a personal drone after it was spotted hovering near smoke in Sydney’s North Shore.
“There are no circumstances where an unauthorised drone should be flown near a fire,” Mr Gibson said to news.com.au. “It is sheer stupidity as it puts lives at risk, both on the ground and in the air.”
No fire was found where the drone as looking, but it could have seriously hampered firefighting efforts. This was confirmed by the Killara rural fire brigade via Facebook.
“If a fire was confirmed at the location we would not be able to request any aerial assistance due to the sighting of a drone near the fire,” the brigade posted in a statement on Facebook.
“Please do not fly drones near fires, you are risking lives, if you fly then we can’t.”
The Killara brigade also spoke about a number of vehicles coming to “sightsee” the fires. NSW RFS spokesman Matt Sun condemned this behaviour.
“Don’t drive to where the fire trucks are going.” NSW RFS spokesman Matt Sun said, adding that drones should never be used near fire crews.
“A mid-air collision with a firefighting aircraft could be catastrophic,” Mr Sun said.
“People shouldn’t be going out of their way to try and get photos of these situations, they shouldn’t be anywhere near the bush at all, it is that dangerous,” he said.
People are also defying advice given by the RFS, after tourists were spotted at the Three Sisters lookout in Katoomba despite warnings to leave the area.
Locals were seen taking photos with houses that were doused in bright pink flame retardant.
RFS commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons reassured locals that the retardant would wash off with water.
“Clearly, it’s not only hit the mark of the fire, but extended into the road and we’ve got crews, we’ve got vehicles, we’ve got homes, we’ve got property that is now coloured pink,” he said.
“There are guidelines available … about hosing down and washing down the retardant.”
Many people are also breaching the total fire ban in place for NSW, with three men and a nine-year-old lighting fires with a blowtorch.
A 27-year-old man was caught lighting a fire to boil water for tea and despite immediately extinguishing the flames after police and firefighters arrived, he was issued with an on-the-spot $2,200 infringement notice.
It was only hours after this incident that police were called to another house in Sydney’s southwest, where a 35-year-old man burned fence palings in a cylindrical barbecue.
“Embers from this fire fell to the ground and ignited palings, causing a secondary blaze,” NSW Police said in a statement.
He was also issued with an infringement notice.
The third man allegedly lit a small coal barbecue in Sydney’s west in the early hours of Tuesday morning and will face court due to allegedly breaching bail conditions.
The nine-year-old who lit a fire with a blowtorch was warned under the Young Offenders Act due to his age and caused a small grass fire to break out in Nowra on the South Coast.