new south wales if you just storms moving through which certainly isn't a good thing considering we've got these up these worsening weather in coming days . that was james morris of the new south wales rural fire service speaking to us. and we've got some sports news now and the german football bunda see a 4th place dortmund have signed one of the most sought after forwards in here that would be 19 year old norwegian. highland highland has been playing with the austrian club salzburg he has scored 16 league goals this magnitude 8 goals in the champions league group stages that 2nd only to buy ins roberts given belsky. and you're watching news from ben coming up next and 11 year old don sophists is he's trained that that is all starts marion skiffy s.s. that's on reports that don't forget you can get the latest news and information around the clock that's on our website debutant com thanks for joining. us. every journey begins with the 1st step and every language with the 1st word published in the. rico is in germany to learn german why not come with him it's simple online on your mobile and free to satisfy d w z learning course nikos fake german made easy.

new south wales just storms moving through which certainly isn't a good thing considering we've got the stop these worsening weathering coming. that was james morris of the new south wales rural fire service speaking to us earlier now let's take a look at some of the other stories making news around the world at least 10 people were killed when a missile hit military parade in a town in southern yemen the ceremony for new recruits was being held by a south yemen sits a script a spokes woman blamed who the rebels for the attack. more than a 1000 demonstrators have gathered in hong kong to mock a turbulent year in the samuel thomas region protests began in june over a proposed extradition law but grew to dumond's for democracy protesters say beijing and the local government all eroding freedom and democracy. a german rescue ship has stocks in sicily after rescuing more than 30 migrants in the mediterranean be alone could even reach the southern port of ports and on sunday the migrants were picked up off the libyan coast last week. new york's governor says a stabbing attack on a group of people celebrating the jewish end of the festival was an act of terrorism 5 people were wounded in the at

new south wales if you just storms moving through which certainly isn't a good thing considering we've got these are these worsening weather in timing guys . that was chains morris of the new south wales rural fire service speaking to us. now thousands of families in western kenya are coping with the aftermath of flooding and heavy rains that began on christmas eve many fear the flooding could get worse as they wait for aid to east africa is being battered by abnormally heavy rains to the indian ocean in warmer than usual. in the kenyan county of kisumu the water has crept everywhere residents struggle to find safe and dry places away from the muddy waters they are appealing to the government for help . children food went with the water school shoes and the books for the kids to my belongings outside here and i don't know where i will go to. there's no place to sleep we don't even have tents no water to drink and i have children in college as well as in secondary and primary schools. that don't support it started on christmas night has left homes and businesses sup merged this week's floods are the latest to hit kenya earlier heavy rains had already forced thousands of people to evacuate many had starte

new south wales if you just storms moving through which certainly isn't a good thing considering we've got the stuff these worsening weather in coming days all right james morris from the new south wales rural fire service we appreciate it thank you. let's get a check now of some of the other stories making news around the world in lebanon hundreds of protesters rallied outside the home of the country's new prime minister demonstrators fired flares and demanded the resignation of his son who is backed by the islamist group hezbollah lebanon is facing its worst political crisis in decades protests against corruption and mismanagement have gripped the country since october. more heavy rains and flooding have forced thousands of families to flee villages and farms in western kenya the weather has displays some 2000000 people in east africa in the past 2 months with hundreds dead the rains are expected to ease up only at the end of the month. all right we'd like to bring you some breaking news now media in the united states are reporting that there has been a stabbing attack at a jewish hanukkah holiday party in new york state according to reports a man stabbed at least 5 people at a rabbi's home in the tow

new south wales to bolster and support then exhaust should there be any heightened level of requirements needed ferries of course land in and around sydney harbor. james morris from the new south wales rural fire service we appreciate you taking the time to talk to us and wish all the best to you and your colleagues. let's get a check now of some of the other stories making news around the world there's been a stabbing attack at a jewish holiday celebration near new york city authorities say 5 people were hospitalized with injuries 2 of them are in critical condition the attack appears to be the latest in a string of anti-semitic attacks in new york this month. in lebanon hundreds of protesters rallied outside the home of the country's new prime minister demonstrators fired flares and demanded the resignation of haasan dion who's backed by the islamist group hezbollah lebanon is facing its worst political crisis in decades protests against corruption and mismanagement have gripped the country since october. well india has been engulfed in mass nationwide demonstrations ever since a controversial new citizenship law was passed in early december the law makes it easier for religious minorities from neig

and joining us now from sydney is james morris he's a spokesman for the new south wales rural fire service james the weather forecast for you is hot and windy what does that mean for fighting the fires. good afternoon nic obviously that means challenging conditions and certainly somewhat erratic fire behavior expected across the logic area of a far grounds some idea one wishing grosse for as continue to burn across new south wales with around 35 of those still yet to be can tie and that still a lot of fog that we've got in the lead skype giving that predicted a full cost conditions over the next $3.00 to $4.00 days and what have firefighters done to prepare for these worsening conditions or is there anything they can do is look there is certainly some work that we can do our forefathers have taken advantage of those 5 routing conditions for the last 4 to 5 days being undertaking back burning hakan time and utilizing heavy machinery to construct can timelines but we've also had for foreigners in the field using cane tools to create in time and lines down some very rugged a steep terrain esp

fire and rescue services to their limits and the fires are still getting worse. well joining me now from sydney is james morris he's a spokesman for the new south wales rural fire service james thank you for taking the time to talk to us out such a critical time now we understand the high winds have been called the casing efforts what does that mean so you'll firefighters and they walk. good afternoon to you helena look as you mentioned those winds caused a lot of issues for us yesterday afternoon we saw those wind gusts in excess of i t 2100 kilometers per hour which caused very challenging and erratic fire behavior far far as to try and control and slow the spread of restraints and very incredible footage coming out of those 4 grounds of forefathers trying to defend homes and properties where they can some air is residents going down to the local fire station and forefathers are protecting those residents while they still continue to battle the fire as you mentioned unfortunately we've saying 8 people lose a lot of that they say and so far including 2 of our own far far as i mean recent days unfortunately jeff an andrew of holes leapai brigade who are out are protect

new south wales just storms moving through which certainly isn't a good thing considering we've got the stop these worsening weather in timing. and that was james morris of the new south wales rural fire service speaking to us it in its 2nd look now at some of the other stories making news around the world a truck bomb attack in somalia has killed at least 78 people the device exploded during morning rush hour at a busy checkpoint in the capital mogadishu president mohammed abdul live on module blamed a militant islamic group. at least 10 people were killed when a missile hit a military parade in a town in southern yemen the parade for new recruits was being held by yemen separatist group a spokesperson blamed with the rebels for the attack. and more than $1000.00 demonstrators have gathered in hong kong to mock a turbulent year in the semi autonomous region protests began in june over a proposed extradition law but grew to include dumond's for more democracy protesters say beijing and the local government are eroding freedom and democracy. and there's been a stabbing at a jewish holiday celebration me in new york city authorities say 5 people were hospitalized 2 are in critical condition it'

new south wales. let‘s speak to james morris from the new south wales rural fire service.cumstances. thank you for the stock how is it looking from that? good morning and merry christmas, mike, and to all the viewers right across the network. it is just after midday here in new south wales. tha nkfully midday here in new south wales. thankfully we have seen a bit of respite care across the state. in the last 2a hours we have seen 30—15 millimetres of rain falling across much of northern new south wales, which will hopefully put an end and certainly for some time to fires across northern parts of new south wales. i certainly around the sydney area, central pulse, and southern parts of new south wales we still have a long way to go with next to no moisture falling across those areas. currently we still have around 79 bush and grass fires burning across new south wales, with around 30 of them still to be contained. actually we do have much cooler conditions today, which is allowing our firefighters to get the upper hand, start really working on containment lines, and are doin

and james morris speaks for the new south wales rural fire service he told. us is doing to combat these mega blazes base for the bank burning in very very remote and rugged terrain a lot of these areas do not have close can time lines on the way can simply do a direct attack or do close can time and so are now strategies now to fall back to communities and want to areas to protect times as these fires come out into habited areas now the biggest issue at this stage is that these trials asar lauch and with catastrophic fire conditions predicted for tomorrow across a number of areas the only thing that we will be out do tomorrow is to protect law and try and protect property where we can under these conditions because it's simply too dangerous to be able to have far far as trying to control they said was under those conditions. there is morris from the new south wales rural fire service now let's get back to go back to our top story which is the vote in the u.k. prime minister boris johnson's. a you withdrawal bill has passed its 1st reading so let's join barbar

the new south wales rural fire service is the world's largest volunteer organisation, with more than 70,000 members. most are local volunteers who have taken on the task to project the rural communities. and many have been overwhelmed by how people responded to their work. just overwhelming support, like. obviously all the presents and stuff for the kids. that's just what they need at the moment. i haven't even got my christmas shopping or anything for my daughter. she's about to turn one injanuary. 0n the 11th. just thank you, thank you very much. last week's catastrophic fires have been fuelled by record temperatures of more than 41 degrees. an extreme heat wave swept across the country, combined with strong winds and dry conditions. australia has been fighting wildfires for months. the early start to the fire season is stretching already scarce water resources. pictures of a thunderstorm in the north—eastern city of brisbane showed some respite in the hot weather. but firefighters say a lot more rain is needed in many more places, with not much for over the next few weeks. bumpy,

fire and rescue services to their limits and the fires are still getting worse. joining me now from sydney is james morris he's a spokesman for the new south wales rural fire service james thanks so much for joining us now a weather front has moved through the state of new south wales overnight it's brought high winds with it can you tell us how that has affected firefighters efforts. yeah good evening once again those wings that we've same move through are coming from the southerly direction of really impacted our far grounds we're seeing very erratic behavior was obviously earlier in the day they pushing in very much of an a silly direction and now with a very large front to the north once these winds from the south have picked up they've really saying they are ready conditions move towards properties to the north which is of sequels significant property protection being required from our forefathers from right across new south wales which are focusing on it on areas rather around the blue mountains west of sydney and northern sydney around the hawks free area and down on the south car east of new south wales around joe spy in sussex inlet there with a number of

up to date with the latest. 1st a tragic development in the past couple of hours the new south wales rural fire service there's a bill that will until it was killed and 2 others injured when their up trucks 2 trucks collided. on the new south wales dictorial border so that brings the total death toll so far in this witch fire crisis to 10 because all this will only add to the concern the gloom of the stress being felt by a stray and as fires continue to rage along much of the country's eastern seaboard there's no news of the developing crisis in the northern millburn suburbs with fires breaking out in several locations there it's a very well populated area and the reports and claims of being again as high as 20 to 30 meters in the air of the sea it's a crisis of great concern are but the main focus of concern is in the east gets land area of victoria in the south of it's origin or the new south wales border and there are the biggest of multiple fires of a broken out over the past 24 hours those fires are spreading road across the region prompting the evacuation of thousands of people many others have d

and joining me now from sydney is james morris he's a spokesman for the new south wales rural fire service thanks so much for being on our program well there's been a bit of good news for the volunteer firefighters with the government saying they are now going to be paid just how much of a difference is this going to make to their lives. it's a mighty huge difference for those volunteers who have given so much time in the last 5 to carve a half month or so without bush was as you mentioned a lot of them taking on paid leave taking time out from the jobs especially those who were a business sina's small business owners in the walks who have lost income so they saw our forefathers who have been out for more than tend. to be able to climb up to $300.00 a day with a maximum of $6000.00 off a time and say look they're making huge difference to the diety living in and support the family and those people who have arm fortunately missed out during that on the helping communities of youth off oil. well unfortunately we are getting reports of further bushfires are updating just overnight and still a

james morris speaks for the new south wales rural fire service he told t.w. what firefighters are doing to combat these mega blazes based far burning in very very remote and rugged terrain a lot of these areas do not have close can time lines other we can simply do a direct attack or do close can time and so our strategy is now to fall back to communities and want to areas to protect times as these fires come out into habitat areas now the biggest issue at this stage is that these fires the sorry large and with catastrophic fire conditions predicted for tomorrow across a number of areas the only thing that we will be out tomorrow is to protect law and try and protect property where we can under these conditions because it's simply too dangerous to be able to have firefighters trying to control these fires under those conditions. i was surfing most instead of you and the summer olympics next year and the world league is that qualification route brazil prove that i'll be a force to be reckoned with in tokyo with mile for surface finishing 1st and 2nd in hawaii.

and we spoke to james morris of the new south wales rural fire service we often about the bush fires and the decision not to cancel sydney's famous new year fire. despite outbreaks all for the bush bias of a nice look at the stage obviously way type precautions working with a partner a technique i didn't seize an organizations are closely with them in regards to our total fire ban exemptions and and their requirements and at this stage given the forecast conditions we don't believe that there will be any she's at this stage in regards to the sydney harbor fireworks going ahead we'll obviously continue to work with them and if we need to have a heart and level of response from our forefathers from both the r.f.s. and foreign rescue new south wales throughout the sydney area i will do is to say working to the conditions but you know we are expecting certainly that southerly change to move through needs dave can take a number of hours to move through from around 5 to 7 pm on needs a so we are likely to see those much cooler conditions by the time we certainly by the time we reach me not

joining me now from sydney is james morris he's the spokesperson for the new of the new south wales rural fire service james thanks so much for joining us or thorazine say things have reached a catastrophic level sydney which is where you are is surrounded by raging bushfires can you describe to us what this means for people living in the affected areas. good evening and you look terrible conditions he for ferries across new south wales today as you mentioned catastrophic fire danger declared for parts of new south wales for us that makes it easy as bad as it gets we still soaring temperatures today up in the mid to high forty's winds in excess of id to 100 kilometers after a southerly buster southerly wind chimes coming through a number of areas which even at the moment i was doing new fawzi not central and northern new south wales flaring up threatening homes due to that wind chimes we've seen a number of areas threatened our right across there is in western sydney and through the blue mountains through northern city through our whole sri area and even down on our new south wales south coast as well

or 3 months to go before we start to say and easing conditions james morris from the new south wales rural fire service we appreciate you taking the time to talk to us and wish all the best to you and your colleagues thanks for it's our marian our. let's get a check now some of the other stories making news around the world in chile police used tear gas and water cannons to break up anti-government protests demonstrations against president sebastian pinera have rocked the country since october on friday he did a key demand of the protesters and set a date for a referendum on a new constitution. russia's defense minister says its new intercontinental hypersonic missiles became operational on friday according to the kremlin the missiles travel up to 27 times the speed of sound and can make sharp turns allowing them to evade missile intercept systems. in the gulf of oman iran has begun naval exercises with its russian and chinese allies the drills are taking place near a vital transit route for the world's oil tankers and the rain and admirals says the drills show that the country cannot be isolated on th

the new south wales rural fire service is the world's largest volunteer organisation, with more thanto project the rural communities. and many have been overwhelmed by how people responded to their work. just overwhelming support, like. obviously all the presents and stuff for the kids. that's just what they need at the moment. i haven't even got my christmas shopping or

james maurice of the new south wales rural fire service we also know about the bush bias and the decision not to cancel sydney's famous ni a fireworks display despite outbreaks off for the bush of the night. oh good afternoon look at this stage obviously way type precautions working with the pyrotechnics i agencies and organizations are closely with them in regards to our total fire ban exemptions and and their requirements and at this stage given the full cost of conditions we don't believe that there will be any she's at this stage in regards to the sydney harbor. going ahead. he continued to work with them and if we need to have a heart and level of response from our forefathers from both the r.f.s. and foreigner a few new south wales throughout the sydney area will do is to say working to the conditions we are expecting that southerly change to move through needs a number of hours to move through from around 5 to 7 pm on needs a so we are lucky to say there is much cooler conditions and we certainly by the time we reach me not on trees dine on the stages you mentioned we do have a num

or 3 months to go before we start to see and easing conditions james morris from the new south wales rural fire serviceand we appreciate you taking the time to talk to us and wish all the best to you and your colleagues. all right some soccer news now and veteran striker is lot of h. is returning to his former club ac milan now that his contract with the l.a. galaxy has ended and the 38 year old swede signed a deal with the italian outfit until the. end of the season with the option to extend for another year ibrahim vich played a key role in the last 2011 sciri title he scored 56 goals for them in 85. but the club is currently stuck in 11th place. a reminder now our top story. police in somalia say dozens of people have been killed and many others injured by a massive car bomb in mogadishu the bomb was detonated during the morning rush hour at a busy security checkpoint. that's the latest from d.w. news at this hour of american and for me and the entire news team here in berlin thanks for the company. the people. going for come from tarski. joined as they set out to save the environment learn from one

fires for months and, with no end in sight to the crisis, a long, dangerous summer lies ahead. phil mercer, bbc news, new south wales. greg allan, spokesperson for the new south wales rural fire servicegiving us the latest on the situation. 76 current fires burning across new south wales, 30 of those fires are yet to be contained. we have got, in the field right now, more than 2000 personnel working to christmas morning, across boxing day and thousands volunteers across the new year to slow the spread of fire, and protect lives and properties across the state. for the families who have been caught up in this, it's really going to make for an incredibly miserable christmas. some of them losing not just their homes but in some cases their livelihoods as well? it is very, very very sad, as we have said more than 870 homes this season that have been destroyed in this state alone. very, very sad, we have seen lives lost, a very destructive season. no doubt christmas day will be particularly a tough day to get through, no doubt for those who lost property, for those who lost homes, but especially for our volunteer firefighters who are away from families, doing what they can, itjust shows t

fires in the states of victoria and south australia. phil mercer, bbc news, in bilpin, the blue mountains. ben shepherd from the new south wales rural fire serviceare preparing for yet another heatwave. many of our volunteers have been out there on the fire line trying to get some level of containment on these fires before we see the onset of another heatwave, unfortunately, where we are expecting temperatures to climb into the a0 degrees and coupled with strong westerly winds, dry winds, from the centre of the continent which tend to drive these fires. so they are doing what they can. they understand this is going to be still another difficult time and the real thing that we obviously need is rain and there is just none of that really on the horizon so it's going to be a difficult few days and a difficult few weeks, while we continue to deal with more than 70 fires burning across new south wales. we are fortunate at this time of year, many of our members do take leave but they're using that leave to go out on the fire ground and actually assist where they can. but the community response this year has been amazing as well. to see people actually

new south wales. james morris is a spokesperson for the new south wales rural fire service, he explains that althoughres across the region, there is cause for some christmas cheer. thankfully we have seen a bit of respite care across the state. in the last 2a hours we have seen 30—15 millimetres of rain falling across much of northern new south wales, which will hopefully put an end and certainly for some time to fires across northern parts of new south wales. but certainly around the sydney area, central parts, and southern parts of new south wales we still have a long way to go with next to no moisture falling across those areas. currently we still have around 79 bush and grass fires burning across new south wales, with around 30 of them still to be contained. thankfully we do have much cooler conditions today, which is allowing ourfirefighters to get the upper hand, start really working on containment lines, and are doing direct firefighting, which we haven‘t been able to do for some time, due to those deteriorating conditions. james, we are hearing from some firefighters that a little bit of rain

new south wales, the warm weather is forecast to peak on new year's eve, with some relief expected on wednesday. well, sydney's iconic new year's eve fireworks will go ahead after the new south wales rural fire servicere ban. our sydney correspondent shaimaa khalil has more. here in the sydney harbour, preparations are well under way for new year's eve celebrations. thousands of tourists have packed the place, getting ready for the events. however, this year it has been particularly controversial. the issue of fireworks in particular, and this is because more than 300,000 people have signed a petition saying this is not the right thing to do. this is not the time, given the bushfire crisis and given the fact that nearly 100 fires are raging across new south wales, with the biggest one surrounding sydney. this as well as temperature is being expected to rise above a0 celsius across new south wales into tuesday, which is new year's eve, and more fires are expected with the worsening conditions. elsewhere in southern australia, specifically in the state of victoria, more than ten emergency fire warnings have been issued. the area that was under the most threat throughout the day has been the area of ea

james morris from the new south wales rural fire service spoke about the scale of the challenge they are massive, the biggest we have ever seen in new south wales, burning out sincejuly more than 3.1 million hectares of bush and grassland. we currently have 100 fires burning across new south wales, and one of those which has been elevated in the last five minutes or so to emergency warning, threatening homes around the blue mountains so even though in sydney at the moment, it is just after midnight, where we would typically see very cool, calm and collected nights, we are seeing very erratic fire behaviour, flames 10, 20 metres above the tree tops, threatening homes close by so still very challenging and erratic conditions being seen by firefighters doing a wonderfuljob battling to save as many houses as possible. unfortunately, saturday we saw catastrophic bushfire conditions right across parts of new south wales. we believe we have lost around a hundred homes just in that fire alone. we have seen close to a thousand lost in this fire season alone. devastating times for new south wal

helena: james morris is the new south wales rural fire service.e told us what firefighteters e doing to combat these mega blazes. >> thehese fes a are burning i n very remote and d rugged terrai. a lot of these areas do not have closed conontainment lines thate can simply do a didirect attacor do close containment. our strategy is s now to fall bk to comommunities in wider ars so protect homes as these fires come to habited arareas. the e biggest issue at this stae is these fireses are so lae e ad we have cacatastrophic firire coconditions predidicted for tomorrow acrcross a number of areas. the only thing we will be able to do tomorrow is to protect life and t a and protect property where we can. it is simply too dangerous to be able to have firefighters trying to control these fires under those conditions. helena: at least have been -- at least 11 people have been killed during growing demonstrations against india's new citizenship law. protesters have clashed with police in cities across the country despite arch gatherings being banned in many

new south wales are spending the holiday season in shelters 7 their villages and towns, still smouldering from last week s fires. i'm joined now from sydney by ben shepherd who works for the new south wales rural fire service us. thank you very much for talking to us. you and many, many people have not had much of a christmas at all, how are you all holding up? as you said many of our volunteers have been out there on the fire line trying to get some level of containment on these fires before we see the onset of another heatwave, we are expecting temperatures to climb into the a0 degrees and colour with very strong winds this dry winch and the centre of the consonant which tend to drive these fires and so we are doing what they can, they understand that this is going to be another difficult time in the real thing we obviously need is rain, and there'sjust none in the real thing we obviously need is rain, and there's just none of that really on the horizon so it's going to be a difficult few days in a difficult few weeks whilst we continue to deal with more than 70 fires burning across new south wales. what difference has the slightly cooler temperatures made of the last few days? it's enabled us to get som

the new south wales rural fire service is the world's largest volunteer organisation, with more thanhe task to protect the rural communities and many have been overwhelmed by how people responded to their work. just overwhelming support, like. 0bviously, all the presents and stuff for the kids. that's just what they need at the moment. i haven't even gone christmas shopping or anything for my daughter. she's about to turn one in january, on the 11th. just thank you, thank you very much. last week's catastrophic fires have been fuelled by record temperatures of more than 41 degrees as an extreme heatwave swept across the country, combined with strong winds and dry conditions. australia has been fighting wildfires for months. the early start to the fire season is stretching already scarce water resources. pictures of a thunderstorm in the north—eastern city of brisbane showed some respite in the hot weather but firefighters say a lot more rain is needed in many more places, with not much forecast over the next few weeks. shaimaa khalil, bbc news, in sydney. kaya yongen lives in nymboid

i've been speaking to ben shepherd from the new south wales rural fire service, he told me how they arering for yet another heatwave. we are expression temperatures decline, coupled with strong westerly winds, dry winds from the centre of the continent, it tends to drive a continent — mugford drive the fires. them standards going to bea the fires. them standards going to be a difficult time, the real thing we need is rain. and there's none of that on the horizon. so difficult few days but are difficult few weeks while we continue to deal with more than 70 fires burning causes of wealth. what difference has the cooler temperatures made over the last few days? i want to enable -- what enabled us to do is to get containment lines build and undertake some bug burning, that is where we live fires to remove the fuel head of the main fire front so that it needs to continue as conditions allow. it is bizarre to review the back end of the week and injune you review the back end of the week and in june you week, review the back end of the week and injune you week, those opportunities will be limi

the new south wales rural fire service commissioner, shane fitzsimmons, says this is the state's worstushfire season on record. the crisis shows no sign of ending. for many australians, the new year will bring more anxiety and fear. phil mercer, bbc news, sydney. well, this is the shocking moment a fire and rescue truck was overrun by a bushfire burning in new south wales, with the crew being forced to shelter as the fire passed through. left, left, left! radio chatter copy. fires on the road already. jasper? jasper, put the blanket up. that is bravery. earlier, i spoke to david jeffery. he runs the wave 0cean b&b in mallacoota and had to seek refuge on the beach when the fires struck. i asked him what the situation was like now. well, it's evening now, so things are... ..people are settling a little bit. behind us, there's still active fire. that there is fire trucks filling up from the inland here, a bit of salt water and everything, still trying to douse the fires. occasionally, another house goes, unfortunately. notjust houses but people we love and care about and it's their dreams

one of the unpaid workers from from the new south wales rural fire service who will spend christmas dayd, who spoke to us earlier. i will bejoining around 2000 other volunteers across new south wales if fighting the fires. we have about 80 bushfires burning across the state so it has been a long summerfor us so far and we are only about half way through. a number of others have put up a hand to work on christmas day because for us it is just another day working on these fires. it is what we do and we love what we do and we do it for the community. it is a difficultjob and we are lucky to have 70,000 volunteers across new south wales. it is a very important bit of work to be done, particularly this week as we have a lull in the weather. we have got cooler temperatures and the winds have died down a bit. we have a chance to go in and do some very important containment work before things start to heat up again. some of these very large fires are going to be potentially posing a risk to communities next week. we give our we have all got dayjobs and we are volunteer at our local fire station