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Speaker 1: You are listening to Mix one oh four point nine

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Speaker 1: and joining us in the studio is the Assistant Chief

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Speaker 1: of Chief Fire Officer Joshua Fisher.

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Speaker 2: How are you great, Thank you, good morning.

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Speaker 3: Thanks so much for joining us this morning.

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Speaker 1: I think that everybody around the territory right now is

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Speaker 1: wondering are we full steam ahead for fireworks on Sunday.

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Speaker 4: Look from a Northern Territory Fin and Rescue Service perspective,

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Speaker 4: we're planning for the event to happen as it's planned.

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Speaker 4: So in terms of the current fire weather advice, we're

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Speaker 4: looking like hi to very high fight angel right across

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Speaker 4: the western top end and load and moderate throughout the

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Speaker 4: rest of the areas in the NT, particularly down in

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Speaker 4: Central Australia. So from our perspective, it's highly unlikely that

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Speaker 4: there will be a fire being declared on Sunday at

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Speaker 4: this time with the current advice. So for the Fine

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Speaker 4: Rescue Service, we're busy now preparing for our enhanced green arrangements.

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Speaker 2: To ensure that we can keep the Northern Territory community safe.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, because I reckon the community is probably pretty split

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Speaker 1: on this one. There will be a lot of people

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Speaker 1: who are super keen to get out some let off

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Speaker 1: some of those fireworks, and then there'll be a lot

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Speaker 1: of people who are really worried about that fire danger

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Speaker 1: and about their properties. What are some of those additional

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Speaker 1: measures which are being put in place to really make

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Speaker 1: sure that things don't get dangerous.

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Speaker 4: Look from our perspective, we've got about two hundred firefighters

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Speaker 4: that will be on duty during the period that the

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Speaker 4: crackers are allowed to be set off by the public.

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Speaker 4: So it's around one hundred career firefighters and one hundred

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Speaker 4: auxiliary and volunteer firefighters in our twenty six locations throughout

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Speaker 4: the Northern Territory. So it's quite a significant amount of

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Speaker 4: resourcing that's gone into it, as well as our incident

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Speaker 4: management team, additional crewing at the Joint Emergency Services Communications Center,

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Speaker 4: and our engagement with Northern Territory Police that obviously presented

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Speaker 4: the public firework displays at Middle Beach and in other

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Speaker 4: remote communities throughout the territory. So quite a large number

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Speaker 4: of resources are going in around this event. But it's

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Speaker 4: also a reminder that we are in the fire season.

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Speaker 4: It's well in. We know that historically through August in

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Speaker 4: September we can get the worst of our fired anger

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Speaker 4: today coincides with twelve months where we experienced catastrophic fight

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Speaker 4: anger in Bachelor last year and people will only be

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Speaker 4: too familiar with what can occur during extreme to catastrophic

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Speaker 4: fired anger.

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Speaker 2: There is a fired anger period declared.

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Speaker 4: For the area of the NT north of Elliott, so

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Speaker 4: from Elliott out to west to Timber Creek to Borrow,

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Speaker 4: Lula Upton, Allen Boy into the Islands. We're currently experiencing

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Speaker 4: our top end fire season, so notwithstanding that we do

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Speaker 4: only have hired a very high fired anger forecast for

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Speaker 4: the weekend, we still have quite high grass curing, particularly

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Speaker 4: around Catherine out into Arnham Land and in the southern

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Speaker 4: reaches outside of Darwin. Yes, we have experienced some rain

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Speaker 4: earlier this week, but by the weekend a majority of

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Speaker 4: that will be dried out the grass fuel will be

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Speaker 4: available again for fire to freely burn through it. So

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Speaker 4: there is underlying risk to those areas. So it's really

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Speaker 4: important that people that are choosing to use fireworks do

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Speaker 4: so in a safe manner. A good way to enjoy

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Speaker 4: fireworks this Territory data is to attend one of the

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Speaker 4: Northern Territory government funded public fireworks displays throughout the territory,

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Speaker 4: and they're a reminder there that private fireworks are not

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Speaker 4: permitted at those Territory Day events where they're for the public,

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Speaker 4: and people need to be mindful if they are going

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Speaker 4: to be used in at home, that they do so

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Speaker 4: in that safe way.

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Speaker 2: They have a nice.

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Speaker 4: Cleared area, they have water available to extinguish any fires

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Speaker 4: if they do happen to start, and that they use

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Speaker 4: some form of stabilizing device so that fireworks don't accidentally

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Speaker 4: fall over and become a projectile or fly directly into

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Speaker 4: grass rather flammable material.

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Speaker 1: Now, are you still able to let your fireworks off

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Speaker 1: in some of those public places as well? I know

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Speaker 1: that in some areas, and I know that obviously your

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Speaker 1: jurisdiction is more so Darwin and the Greater Darwin region,

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Speaker 1: not so much the rural area I suppose, But is

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Speaker 1: there still a situation where you can let those fireworks

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Speaker 1: off in some of those public places public parks that

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Speaker 1: people have done it in previous years?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, that's correct. There is an opportunity for people to use.

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Speaker 4: So it's public places where there is an actual Territory

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Speaker 4: Day event, then no, there is a section I believe

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Speaker 4: that little Mindel where people from the public can use

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Speaker 4: their private fireworks, but not on Mindle Beach proper, where

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Speaker 4: the event in the markets will be.

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Speaker 2: There'll be no use of personal fireworks in that area.

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Speaker 4: But for other remote communities and the like, yes, public

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Speaker 4: places will be available, and certainly local government and our

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Speaker 4: Northern Territory police counterparts have been working in those areas

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Speaker 4: to ensure that there's appropriate measures in place.

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Speaker 3: Well, I guess you know our discussion this morning.

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Speaker 1: It'll have some people incredibly happy that they can let

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Speaker 1: off their personal fireworks, it'll have some people quite concerned

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Speaker 1: about the possibility of fire. What is your advice for people?

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Speaker 1: I know you gave some advice just a moment ago

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Speaker 1: about what we can do to try and make sure

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Speaker 1: that we stay safe and that we keep our properties safe.

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Speaker 1: But for those that maybe do have larger areas that

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Speaker 1: are much dryer as well, I mean, what's the best

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Speaker 1: thing for them to be doing to make sure that

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Speaker 1: they do not see are the threat of fire?

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Speaker 4: Well, certainly fireworks aren't explosive, so they must be handled

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Speaker 4: with care and respect to prevent any injury or property

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Speaker 4: damage or the instance of a fire occurring.

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Speaker 2: They need to supervise children.

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Speaker 4: So children under twelve should not handle fireworks or sparklers,

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Speaker 4: and so if there are children between twelve data and

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Speaker 4: then they should be supervised at all times if they're

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Speaker 4: going to be using them. You know, ideally they should

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Speaker 4: clear a ten meter diameter space around your fireworks that's

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Speaker 4: free of tall grass, etc. You know, some fireworks, some

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Speaker 4: of those large ones, they could shoot projectiles up to

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Speaker 4: one hundred meters away. So it's really important that not

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Speaker 4: only looking out for yourself, but in our rural areas,

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Speaker 4: looking at for your neighbor. You know, we also need

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Speaker 4: to take into consideration pets. You know, there's been lots

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Speaker 4: of good discussions around what people could do to protect

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Speaker 4: their pets and make sure that they're safe this Territory day,

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Speaker 4: but also that they're looking at for their neighbors, they're

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Speaker 4: looking at for their community, and ultimately, you know, we

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Speaker 4: want people to enjoy the day, but we want people to

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Speaker 4: make or they do it.

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Speaker 2: The safe way.

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Speaker 1: Yeah. I've just got a message here from Derebin the

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Speaker 1: Dew and it says, sadly, I won't be sitting on

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Speaker 1: my butt with a beer in the relatively safe concrete

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Speaker 1: jungle of suburbia watching people blow stuff up.

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Speaker 3: I'll be on my rural block with all.

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Speaker 1: Our fire hoses at the ready to save my elderly

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Speaker 1: neighbors properties if all hell breaks loose, that one from there,

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Speaker 1: that one there from in the dew. And I guess

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Speaker 1: that is the worry of some, isn't it out in

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Speaker 1: the rural area, just making sure that they stay safe.

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Speaker 1: And you know that others I suppose don't put their

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Speaker 1: properties in danger as well.

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Speaker 4: Certainly it is the dry season, so it goes without

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Speaker 4: saying that it is bush fire season. So we're certainly

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Speaker 4: urging the community to stay vigilant around any fires, particularly

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Speaker 4: on this Sunday. You know, there's still time to prepare

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Speaker 4: their property, clear any area such as grass or any

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Speaker 4: vegetation around their home. If they are choosing to use fireworks,

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Speaker 4: to have a buck to sand, they have some water

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Speaker 4: available so that they can be a safe as possible.

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Speaker 1: Well, all the best to you, Joshua Fisher and all

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Speaker 1: of those volunteers and all of the career firees as

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Speaker 1: well who are going to be working on the weekend.

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Speaker 1: I know it's going to be a busy one for

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Speaker 1: you guys. On Sunday, very busy. I'm anticipating for you,

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Speaker 1: what do you reckon?

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Speaker 4: Certainly, if we look at the historical stats, it's around

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Speaker 4: an increase of three hundred wildfires on top of our

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Speaker 4: business as usual incidents that we attend on any given day,

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Speaker 4: so we're certainly preparing for a busy one.

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Speaker 3: Yeah.

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Speaker 1: Well, Joshua Fisher, thank you so much for your time

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Speaker 1: this morning. As I said, all the best to all

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Speaker 1: of you on the weekend and let's hope that things

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Speaker 1: stay as safe as possible.

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Speaker 2: Thanks very much, thank you.

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Speaker 1: That's the assistant chief fire officer there, Joshua Fisher