If Rod Barclay or other firefighters get the call that a house is ablaze in the north-western NSW town of Warren, chances are they won't bother to put it out.
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| The town of Warren is a gateway to one of Australia's most important wetlands - the fast dessicating Macquarie Marshes. |
"Our priority is to save lives first, save water second," Barclay says on Thursday outside Warren's two-tanker fire station.
Should one of the town's typical three-bedroom weatherboard homes ignite, Fire and Rescue NSW crews will only turn their hoses on the fire if they have to rescue anyone inside. Otherwise it will be sacrificed and water used merely to spray neighbouring homes if flames threaten to spread.
"Warren is the first location in which we're undertaking this new strategy," says Gary Barber, the Dubbo-based Fire & Rescue commander. "We could easily waste a couple of thousand litres on a house that's going to be lost," he says. "That water can certainly be used much better elsewhere in the community."
Read the story from The Age by Peter Hannam - “‘We'll be bathing in salt water': At the epicentre of Australia's big drought.”
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