Page:The Present State and Prospects of the Port Phillip District of New South Wales.djvu/73

 man can well be engaged, as it is most commonly during hot winds that the worst fires occur; the combined heat of the air and fire, together with the suffocating fumes of the smoke, form an atmosphere in which even the slightest exertion would be distressing, and as a man has to exert all his physical power for hours together under these unfavourable circumstances, and generally without being able to get a mouthful of water, some idea may be formed of the distressing nature of the service. I have seen one of the most powerfully-framed and strongest constitutioned men I ever knew, so completely overcome as to throw himself down on his face close to the fire, and lie there perfectly careless whether he was burned or not.

When a fire is to be put out, all the available force of the station is mustered, and the most desirable mode of proceeding having been decided on, (reference being had to the wind and other circumstances,) they spread themselves along the line of fire, each man armed with the branch of a tree; they then go on steadily, one after another, putting it out as they proceed, one man being left at a considerable distance behind to prevent its breaking out again—a circumstance very likely to occur in spite of every precaution. In this manner they proceed until the whole is extinguished, pausing where the grass and bushes are very thick, and making more vigorous efforts where circumstances are more favourable or where a shift of wind gives them an advantage. The most provoking circumstance is, that frequently the hot ashes from the burning trees are blown to a distance and ignite a fresh fire as