Jump to content

Pets Die In Sa Boarding Kennel Fire


Sheridan
 Share

Recommended Posts

I suspect I would've done the same thing as you did - you assess the risk, consider your options and make an informed choice as it is happening. What you don't do is make assumptions or get complacent. No disaster event will ever be the same as another.

Absolutely this. The fire we had in 2006 was the absolute opposite of what we had in 2009 and I believe that peoples' incorrect assumption that the 2009 fire would move slowly like in 2006, and their complacency regarding fire preparation caused many people to loose their lives.

Edited by grumpette
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 203
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

You see it all depends on your current responsibilities and the circumstances. If the kennel owner was indeed a CFS volunteer then it was his responsibility to use his knowledge and experience to protect those animals that he was responsible for, not to be on a truck trying to protect others in the community.

You entire post is so frightening Grumpette.

With regard to the tragedy at the kennels, I agree totally with what you have said about his responsibilities and those of the house sitter.

To leave premises unattended and unsafe is a total dereliction of duty.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

For info:

ACCC have put out a media release about donations and potential scams:

Donate safely this bushfire season

7 January 2015

If you are considering donating to bushfire appeals, the ACCC is encouraging you to double check if the appeal or its organisers are legitimate so that your generosity reaches victims, not scammers.

“There are many worthy organisations that provide much-needed assistance to those affected by the summer bushfires,” ACCC Acting Chair Dr Michael Schaper said.

“Unfortunately, there are also scammers who capitalise on tragic events as soon as they happen and divert funds away from those in need.”

Last year, over $400,000 was reported lost to various fake charity scams – with more than 600 contacts made to the ACCC.

Scammers will approach targets using many guises to try and trick people into misplacing their goodwill.

The South Australian Country Fire Service (SA CFS) recently issued a warning after receiving enquiries from the public about someone door knocking and collecting cash donations. The SA CFS does not door-knock to seek donations.

The ACCC has received reports that social media sites are being used to seek donations to support those affected by bushfires. There are no guarantees these funds will find their way to those you intended.

“Donate freely but donate wisely by checking that your money is going to a legitimate charity on the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) register,” Dr Schaper said.

“Don’t let unscrupulous fraudsters take advantage of your generosity and make sure your donation reaches those who need it in bushfire-affected communities.”

Protect yourself:

  • If you are considering making a donation to a charity, cause or appeal, approach the organisation directly using their official contact details to make the payment.
  • Check an organisation’s credentials at the ACNC website (link is external)
  • If you are approached by a street collector, ask to see their identification. If you have any doubts about who they are, do not pay and contact the organisation directly. Don’t rely on contact details provided by the person – find them through an independent source such as a phone book or online search.
  • If you are approached at home or over the phone, ask the collector for details about the charity such as its full name, address and how the proceeds will be used. If they become defensive and cannot answer your questions, close the door or hang up.
  • If you receive an email from an unverified sender, do not click on any links or open attachments and press ‘delete’.
  • Never give money or your financial details to someone you don’t trust.

If you think you’ve spotted a scam, report it to SCAMwatch or contact the ACCC on 1300 795 995. You should also spread the word to your friends and family to protect them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

For info:

ACCC have put out a media release about donations and potential scams:

Donate safely this bushfire season

7 January 2015

If you are considering donating to bushfire appeals, the ACCC is encouraging you to double check if the appeal or its organisers are legitimate so that your generosity reaches victims, not scammers.

“There are many worthy organisations that provide much-needed assistance to those affected by the summer bushfires,” ACCC Acting Chair Dr Michael Schaper said.

“Unfortunately, there are also scammers who capitalise on tragic events as soon as they happen and divert funds away from those in need.”

Last year, over $400,000 was reported lost to various fake charity scams – with more than 600 contacts made to the ACCC.

Scammers will approach targets using many guises to try and trick people into misplacing their goodwill.

The South Australian Country Fire Service (SA CFS) recently issued a warning after receiving enquiries from the public about someone door knocking and collecting cash donations. The SA CFS does not door-knock to seek donations.

The ACCC has received reports that social media sites are being used to seek donations to support those affected by bushfires. There are no guarantees these funds will find their way to those you intended.

“Donate freely but donate wisely by checking that your money is going to a legitimate charity on the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) register,” Dr Schaper said.

“Don’t let unscrupulous fraudsters take advantage of your generosity and make sure your donation reaches those who need it in bushfire-affected communities.”

Protect yourself:

  • If you are considering making a donation to a charity, cause or appeal, approach the organisation directly using their official contact details to make the payment.
  • Check an organisation’s credentials at the ACNC website (link is external)
  • If you are approached by a street collector, ask to see their identification. If you have any doubts about who they are, do not pay and contact the organisation directly. Don’t rely on contact details provided by the person – find them through an independent source such as a phone book or online search.
  • If you are approached at home or over the phone, ask the collector for details about the charity such as its full name, address and how the proceeds will be used. If they become defensive and cannot answer your questions, close the door or hang up.
  • If you receive an email from an unverified sender, do not click on any links or open attachments and press ‘delete’.
  • Never give money or your financial details to someone you don’t trust.

If you think you’ve spotted a scam, report it to SCAMwatch or contact the ACCC on 1300 795 995. You should also spread the word to your friends and family to protect them.

thanks for this, I might post it on a few pages I've seen :thumbsup:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

interestingly enough, looking at the Vic legislation for breeding establishments, shelters / pounds, and boarding operations, it may probably not surprise you to find that only 1 is strict upon it actively needing to be there (breeding code), there is not mention in the shelter code at all for them to even have a plan, and just touched on in the boarding code that they should have a plan - but nothing in any code to say what the plan actually needs to cover. No idea about other states, but would be interesting to see if in fact it is mentioned in other codes

Link to comment
Share on other sites

interestingly enough, looking at the Vic legislation for breeding establishments, shelters / pounds, and boarding operations, it may probably not surprise you to find that only 1 is strict upon it actively needing to be there (breeding code), there is not mention in the shelter code at all for them to even have a plan, and just touched on in the boarding code that they should have a plan - but nothing in any code to say what the plan actually needs to cover. No idea about other states, but would be interesting to see if in fact it is mentioned in other codes

Vic has the strongest codes of practice of all states/territories of Austalia - well when I last looked.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

strongest of the codes is only for breeding establishments - the shelter / pound one is laughable, considering all the things the AR nuts went nuts over that were in the breeding code, theirs is way looser and a joke really

Link to comment
Share on other sites

OsSwift.... don't complain about your regulations in WA... consider these points...

BOARDING REGULATIONS

The newish Government Regs brought out for Boarding or Training are really a joke.... written by a bunch of public servants sitting around a table drinking coffee and coming up with "oh! what a good idea lets add that to the rules" attitude - then they hand the enforcing of this off to another bunch of public servants (namely local council officers) who then get to interpete these regulations to decide what is acceptable and what is not...

In reality there are people like us... who might have 10-20 years of running boarding kennels and working hands on daily with dogs for years..... we have to spend time and money trying to comply with these little hitlers interpretations..... and yet we are the ones who understand how and what might work best....

Regulations cannot really take in all the different situations that might occur when working with animals... for example: You cannot regulate a bushfire....as we have already seen in this discussion the manner of a bushfire is unpredictable hence the action that is needed can vary hugely....

However the danger being that existing business can be forced out due to the costs of upgrading...

Hence we will end up with some large company setting up factory type boarding arrangements in an industrial zone... Mind you...these are possibly the ones giving the public servants the information for the current regs in Victoria.... Which just happen to suit the set up arrangements they have constructed.

The smaller boarding kennels are pushed out... hence we end up with limited options when it comes to choosing a kennel plus the big corporate group can start to increase their fees... Consider the smaller kennel currently might offer pens of 10-20 sqm per dog and charge $25-28 per day whilst the big industrial facility offers the regulation minimum 4.5sqm per dog and charges $36 per day.

Personally, I will continue to operate the way I do.... but likely within 5-10 years I will have to get out because I will get sick of the government intervention.... there will be many like me..... so many kennels just close down instead of having to spend fortune to comply... no new small boarding business forming due to difficulty of regulations... hence I predict the following within 10 years.

WHAT IS THE FUTURE FOR BOARDING

Small kennels disappear means limited choice for dog owners...

Costs increase dramatically as surviving kennels have higher outgoings....

Large Business take over the pet industry hence we loose the personal touch that many owners prefer.

Cost of boarding dogs becomes out of the pocket of many families... which means they might have to choose not to have a dog

Perhaps Pet Sitting becomes a bigger business to fill the gap... however how do you develop the safety and fire compliance for these business.... dogs left home alone in bushfire areas means many dead dogs.... also storms in regions mean fences down houses damaged... dogs get out.....

Hope I am wrong....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

OsSwift.... don't complain about your regulations in WA... consider these points...

as we have already seen in this discussion the manner of a bushfire is unpredictable hence the action that is needed can vary hugely....

However the danger being that existing business can be forced out due to the costs of upgrading...

It is not a huge cost & no need to upgrade existing kennel for every dog or cat boarded to have an empty crate in case of evacuation, some even come in with their own crate.

A vehicle & trailer & reliable & pre organised help from neighbours/friends is a good plan.

I am not saying it is easy to move a lot of animals but large numbers of people are moved in emergencies like schools & other institutions & they usually have a practised fire drill.

It is because bushfire is unpredictable that forethought is needed. There is almost always prior news & knowledge & warnings given when fire is in your area or heading that way so better safe than sorry.

I always had a fire plan for my family even when living in a house in the city & explained it to my children. Nothing is 100% but having some kind of action plan & using it is a wise decision not a financial one.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Some further developments on this tragedy with calls for enquiries and action by SA government and RSPCA into this tragedy, along with online petitions, see links below to all the relevant info:

Lawyers for Companion Animals - they are calling for "a commission of enquiry into the circumstances surrounding the neglect to evacuate these beloved pets" and "seeks guidelines for minimum standards to be discussed, ratified into legislature, and applied to animal boarding facilities in fire-prone areas in South Australia".

Links to Petitions setup and these links are also listed on "Lawyers for Companion Animals" page in above link

Petition setup by "Lawyers for Companion Animals"

Petition setup by "Orange for Animal Cruelty Awareness"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[/quote Christina]

It is not a huge cost & no need to upgrade existing kennel for every dog or cat boarded to have an empty crate in case of evacuation, some even come in with their own crate.

A vehicle & trailer & reliable & pre organised help from neighbours/friends is a good plan.

I am not saying it is easy to move a lot of animals but large numbers of people are moved in emergencies like schools & other institutions & they usually have a practised fire drill.

It is because bushfire is unpredictable that forethought is needed. There is almost always prior news & knowledge & warnings given when fire is in your area or heading that way so better safe than sorry.

I always had a fire plan for my family even when living in a house in the city & explained it to my children. Nothing is 100% but having some kind of action plan & using it is a wise decision not a financial one.

Christina.... you have absolutely NO idea of what is involved in moving a large number of dogs.... If you had read my earlier post of having actually been thru this exact situation perhaps... just perhaps.... you might have an inclining of what a kennel owner might have to go thru....

Consider a kennel with perhaps 100 dogs - hence 100 crates of varied sizes... where the f$#^ would we store this amount of crates... then perhaps 40 cats with another 40 crates... this would require a shed for crate storage... consider that 2 crates take up space of approx 1 cubic metre... we would need a shed that is about 10 metres x 5 metres.... we would then need a 6 tonne truck which requires an endorsed license... or alternatively perhaps 12 four wheel drives and 12 large sized dog trailers.

We now need to have perhaps 2 hours of time with a minimum of 25 staff on hand to load and move these animals.... and accurate information of where the fire is coming from because we don't want to risk driving the wrong way and heading into the fire where we cant turn around because WE ARE ALL TOWING TRAILERS.... and then were the hell do we go where it will be safe for all these people and dogs and cats.....

Getting neighbours to help... goodness me don't they also have their hands full in a fire situation... volunteers - trouble is there are often road blocks.... no volunteers can get in to help anyway.....

SHEESE some people just don't get it... financial cost is important.... I love dogs...but I run a business I do have to be cost effective otherwise I could not provide the service I do.... or would you have me double or triple my fees to cover the extras and then I would have to hope that enough families could actually then still afford to kennel their dogs when they are on holidays/in hospital/having renovations/moving house etc.....

Edited by alpha bet
Link to comment
Share on other sites

In response to above post I can only think that it may be much wiser then if kennels in a country setting where bushfire may be considered a risk should not be allowed to board so many animals if they can't evacuate them.

To have 100 dogs & 40 cats & no way of moving them out is not responsible. No I have no idea what is involved in moving them but I can see that its not responsible not to in certain emergency situations like fire or flood, whenever possible.

A limit of a small amount, example 20, with a compulsary evacuation/fire plan, may be wiser.

Usually against useless government regulations that are either not for the animals benefit really or put in place by idiots in this scenario I think something may be needed.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In response to above post I can only think that it may be much wiser then if kennels in a country setting where bushfire may be considered a risk should not be allowed to board so many animals if they can't evacuate them.

To have 100 dogs & 40 cats & no way of moving them out is not responsible. No I have no idea what is involved in moving them but I can see that its not responsible not to in certain emergency situations like fire or flood, whenever possible.

A limit of a small amount, example 20, with a compulsary evacuation/fire plan, may be wiser.

Usually against useless government regulations that are either not for the animals benefit really or put in place by idiots in this scenario I think something may be needed.

And as I have said before a vast majority of kennels do have a plan. I don't know if these people did or not, I cannot comment but Most people that have kennels have a plan. If in a major fire risk area the very least they should have is a certain width fire break around the kennels/yards so as to reduce fuel load and an even better an independant sprinkler system ie run by generator and not relying on mains power.

One of the best I have seen was a house in the Perth hills. They implemented a system using sprinklers etc where all water was diverted back to the pool, the pool was the water reserviour and it meant that the sprinkler system along the roof and around the house could operate until their generator was empty which had a large fuel tank and something like a days ability to run. Not perfect but a very good sytem. It also helped guard against ember attack. They could also use tank water and a different generator to wet the ground/lawns etc around the house. That did run out eventually though, but the area would be well wet down by then.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have no opinion either way regarding this particular story but I have to agree with Christina about kennels generally- if you cannot safely evacuate the numbers you have, surely that's too many. If clients were made aware that no effort would be made to evacuate their dogs in the event of a disaster, I think many would look elsewhere for boarding.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share


×
×
  • Create New...