Australian fires, Feb. 23 update

One fire truck was destroyed by a fire in Victoria, another was damaged, and two firefighters were treated for minor burns as a new rash of fires threatens more homes in Australia. Another surge of hot, dry, windy weather has prompted officials to issue warnings that any fires that start could become large. At least one fire is burning in the suburbs of Melbourne.

HERE is a link to a video in which a spokesman from the Dept. of Sustainability and Environment provides information about the current situation.

A bill has been introduced in Australia's legislature that would for the first time allow states and territories to access the telephone number database, which would be the first step to enabling automatically dialed emergency warnings via telephone. During the Black Saturday fires earlier this month many residents had no idea that they were immediately threatened by rapidly approaching fires.