Arsonist Lights Fire Behind Firefighters
Yikes! As if firefighters don't have enough safety issues to worry about, now there is one more. From the Northern Territory News (via Australian Fire Brigade News):
The firies were fighting a deliberately-lit grass fire on the corner of Amy Johnson Drive and the Stuart Highway in Winnellie. They were close to containing the blaze -- but the fire flared up behind them."There's no way it could have jumped," Darwin watch commander Ian Buckland said.
"Someone got behind us and deliberately lit it."
This wasn't an insignificant fire either. It burned ten hectares which is almost 25 acres, in stands of grass and scrub six feet high.
If they manage to catch the fire starter, he should be charged with something more than just arson. Perhaps reckless endangerment or assault. Sheesh!
