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Speaker 1: We know it was a massive Saturday for Territory day,

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Speaker 1: plenty of fun, so many people doing the right thing.

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Speaker 1: There is unfortunately always a few that do the wrong thing,

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Speaker 1: but a number of fires as well. Now joining me

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Speaker 1: in the studio to tell us how things went from

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Speaker 1: a Northern Territory Fire and Rescue Service perspective, it is

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Speaker 1: the Chief Fire Officer, Mark spain Good morning to you.

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Speaker 2: Good morning Katie, Good morning listeners.

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Speaker 1: Now Spainy talk us through. How many fires did we say?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, we saw over one hundred fire fires during the

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Speaker 2: period from zero nine hundred hours Saturday morning, so obviously

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Speaker 2: when you can purchase them right through to midnight. So

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Speaker 2: we had a number of events, but they were pretty

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Speaker 2: good this year. In majority of the fires we're in

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Speaker 2: the Dalen area. Last year was in the Palmston area.

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Speaker 2: There were fires in Palms But it's a huge shout

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Speaker 2: out to majority of Territorians and the visitors to the

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Speaker 2: territory in relations that they called into the Joint Emergency

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Speaker 2: Service Complex. We're able to get the cruise out, we

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Speaker 2: had it enhanced cruise on and we're able to put

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Speaker 2: there the smaller fire out really quickly. So it was

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Speaker 2: a busy night for us, but by the same taken,

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Speaker 2: it was a huge shout out to the majority of territories.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, and the large majority do the right thing. They

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Speaker 1: always seem to do the right thing with those fires

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Speaker 1: that we did have. How sort of severe were they?

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Speaker 1: Or talk us through a few of o's.

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Speaker 2: Normally on fireworks night, we'll have our troops right out

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Speaker 2: to two or three o'clock in the morning in large

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Speaker 2: areas that get hold by the fireworks. However, this time

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Speaker 2: we're able to pounce on them pretty quickly, so they're

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Speaker 2: only smaller areas. In a number of areas, some of

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Speaker 2: the crews out in the rural area had to do

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Speaker 2: some back burning to contain the fires keep it. And

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Speaker 2: then the following day we had extra crews go out

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Speaker 2: and just patrol the areas and all the hot spots.

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Speaker 2: So that were pretty busy up until about twelve o'clock.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, because we caught up with Tony Fuller a bit

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Speaker 1: earlier as well, and he said to have been a

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Speaker 1: pretty busy day like prior to Territory Day actually getting

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Speaker 1: underway or people setting off those fireworks, but pretty well

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Speaker 1: controlled out in the rural area and beyond too.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I gave the information last week to say that

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Speaker 2: the weather would be in our favor, But when I

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Speaker 2: woke up that morning, it is a bit blustering.

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Speaker 1: It was so windy, a.

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Speaker 2: Little bit nervous, But we always it sort of dies

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Speaker 2: down around about eighteen hundred hours or six o'clock at night.

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Speaker 2: So that's why we had that little bit of issues

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Speaker 2: in relation to some of the fires that occurred during

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Speaker 2: the nine o'clock to six o'clock.

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Speaker 1: So how do those numbers and what we sort of

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Speaker 1: saw compared to previous years when you talk about the fires.

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Speaker 2: Almost pretty identical to last year. It is our busiest

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Speaker 2: night for dealing with small fires. It's not necessarily our

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Speaker 2: busiest day and night in relation to our fire season.

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Speaker 2: Once we get those large bush fires occurring, we're pretty

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Speaker 2: well contained and booked up for a couple of days

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Speaker 2: at a time. So it's to our busiest nights running

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Speaker 2: from one fire to another fire. So compared to other seasons,

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Speaker 2: pretty well on par.

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Speaker 1: Now, tell me, I know that there were a few

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Speaker 1: instances of people doing stupid things, like there was indeed

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Speaker 1: that pretty significant incident out in Virginia. We're a twenty

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Speaker 1: three year old and fifty eight year old were injured.

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Speaker 1: Do you do you have much detail on that one.

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Speaker 2: I don't have a great deal of detail on that one.

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Speaker 2: Were made aware that had occurred. At the time. I

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Speaker 2: was based at the NAB building, so I had a

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Speaker 2: pretty good visual around the Daren area. But I would

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Speaker 2: like to say that a couple of my fire crews

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Speaker 2: were fired upon with live fireworks.

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Speaker 1: So people are throwing fireworks at the fireries.

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Speaker 2: Correct or shooting them at the firees. On a couple

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Speaker 2: occasions I checked on those fireries. They were in good spirits. However,

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Speaker 2: they had their personal protective but that's not what they're

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Speaker 2: there for. They're there so the territories can enjoy the

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Speaker 2: day forty five years of celebration, and that's what I'd

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Speaker 2: like to really talk about.

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Speaker 1: So spiny, were they fired at while they were in

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Speaker 1: their trucks or while they were out trying to put

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Speaker 1: fires out?

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Speaker 2: One of my officers was out actually just sizing up

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Speaker 2: the scene when they got fired upon. However, working closely

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Speaker 2: with the police, were able to talk to that individual.

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Speaker 1: Are they okay those firies that were fired upon?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, absolutely, there's no injuries resulted. But the fact that

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Speaker 2: while they're out doing working for the territories on that

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Speaker 2: busy night. We don't expect that sort of behavior to

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Speaker 2: our members and we won't tolerated.

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Speaker 1: It's disgusting, Like you go there out there trying to

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Speaker 1: make sure that territorians stay safe, and the last thing

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Speaker 1: that anybody would expect while they're at work is you know,

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Speaker 1: it's to be assaulted or to be targeted, and to

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Speaker 1: do something like that, I just think it's really poor for.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, we're expecting something being a Saturday night. Yeah flows

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Speaker 2: on a Sunday, so expecting a late late night. But

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Speaker 2: it worked out to be pretty good for us. The

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Speaker 2: fire calls, as I said, were average across the top end. However,

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Speaker 2: in the southern region it was so cold it was

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Speaker 2: about six degrees in rating. The reports from the officer

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Speaker 2: down there is are actually out in the backyard billd

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Speaker 2: neglos to try keepselves form. So it was very quiet.

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Speaker 2: Nel's free.

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Speaker 1: It's much colder in Alice. Hey, I know that you

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Speaker 1: don't have further detail on the twenty three year old

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Speaker 1: and the fifty eight year old. We are due to

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Speaker 1: catch up with Saint John, so we'll talk more about that, hopefully,

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Speaker 1: with them, I do want to ask. So I know

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Speaker 1: there'd been reports of people throwing fireworks as well from

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Speaker 1: a building on Smith Straight. I think it was, and

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Speaker 1: it's the same one that you guys had attended last year.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, well, I actually took some video of the high

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Speaker 2: rise buildings where there's actual individuals were firing the fireworks

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Speaker 2: down to people down below them. I've actually got that

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Speaker 2: on video. And the other core was, yes, we did

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Speaker 2: attend structured fire last year. It turned out to be

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Speaker 2: smoldering rubbish and bin from the fireworks and the same

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Speaker 2: building was involved again. So once again that consumes a

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Speaker 2: lot of resources to those areas, so we try to

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Speaker 2: avoid that. And once again, how to get the police involved.

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Speaker 1: Can people get fined if they're doing stupid stuff like

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Speaker 1: throwing a firework from a building? Because you know, like

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Speaker 1: we've touched on the large majority, do the right thing,

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Speaker 1: and then, I mean, the last thing anybody wants is

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Speaker 1: for people behaving stupidly to ruin it for everybody, you know,

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Speaker 1: when it is a small minority.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, there will be avenues for that, Katie. But at

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Speaker 2: the end of the day, what we said is they

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Speaker 2: haven't followed manufacturers recommendations to shoot down of a building

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Speaker 2: down on people is not the manufacturer's recommendation, so there

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Speaker 2: will be some instances where we'll follow that up as well.

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Speaker 1: Spainy, can I ask from your perspective on a whole

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Speaker 1: do you think territory day went well?

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Speaker 2: Absolutely that i'd like to. Unfortunately, Katie, there was two casualties.

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Speaker 2: Two plastic bins were smoldering and they didn't make it

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Speaker 2: through the night. Plastic bens, Yeah, plastic bens. They put

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Speaker 2: hot fireworks in there and just unfortunately succume to their

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Speaker 2: injuries and we had to put them out of water.

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Speaker 2: But other than that, it was a very good night

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Speaker 2: for the territories. I really appreciated that our crews were busy,

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Speaker 2: and a huge shout out to my call takers, my dispatches.

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Speaker 2: They worked tirelessly but very professional. All my supervisors and

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Speaker 2: particularly to all the crews that were working from career firefires,

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Speaker 2: xilories and my volunteers.

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Speaker 1: Did a fantastic job. And a big thanks from the

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Speaker 1: community as well, really to all those fires and everybody

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Speaker 1: at work on the work that they did to make

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Speaker 1: sure that it was a great day for everybody in

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Speaker 1: a great night for everybody spinning. Before I Let you go, though,

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Speaker 1: anybody that is still in possession of fireworks, have they've

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Speaker 1: got a couple of days to get those to get

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Speaker 1: rid of them.

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Speaker 2: It's now ours by twelve o'clock today, third of July,

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Speaker 2: they must contact work Safe to get a location where

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Speaker 2: they can dispose of those unused fireworks.

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Speaker 1: Okay, so they've got to get rid of them by

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Speaker 1: midday today. So by the time the show ends, you

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Speaker 1: have to get rid of those fireworks. You got to

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Speaker 1: get in contact with work Safe to make sure that

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Speaker 1: you do it the correct one.

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Speaker 2: It's a very expensive fine to be caught with unused fireworks.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, how much is it again?

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Speaker 2: I think it's gone up to seventeen hundred plus dollars.

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Speaker 1: It's a lot of money now. Also, just before I

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Speaker 1: Let You Go, we touched on the fact that there

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Speaker 1: has been like it is pretty windy out there. How

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Speaker 1: the fire conditions looking at the moment.

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Speaker 2: Pretty good at the moment, Katie, but rarely really commencing

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Speaker 2: in the beginning of our fire season. When we move

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Speaker 2: more later into July, August, September, that's when everything's really critical.

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Speaker 2: It's really dry, the winds are really picking up. We're

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Speaker 2: expecting a very aggressive fire season from the Bureau of Meteorology,

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Speaker 2: so we're still a little bit nervous about that one,

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Speaker 2: but we'll respond accordingly.

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Speaker 1: How come, it's expected that it is a bit more aggressive,

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Speaker 1: just coming out of the different weather patterns.

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Speaker 2: As you know, coming in later into the dry season,

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Speaker 2: we don't get the rain to keep everything moisted, so

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Speaker 2: everything dries out at cures and then once you only

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Speaker 2: need a spark, plus you get the southeastlies that come through.

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Speaker 2: They're pretty hard to contain. It's a very fast running fire.

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Speaker 2: So once again we just encourage all our block owners

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Speaker 2: to have their fire breaks in place now not later,

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Speaker 2: have everything prepared, their safety push fire plan prepared and

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Speaker 2: ready to act well.

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Speaker 1: Mark Spain, chief Fire Officer for the Northern Territory Fire

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Speaker 1: and Rescue Service. Always good to catch up with you.

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Speaker 1: Thanks so much for your time this morning.

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Speaker 2: Thanks Coatie, Thank you,