Pets Die In Sa Boarding Kennel Fire

[labadore]

Link below to a news article published today regarding SA CFS advising that pets should be included in bushfire plans in the wake of last week’s devastating Adelaide Hills fire:

CFS says pets-should-be-included-in-bushfire-plans

Article in full:

THE CFS is encouraging people to include pets in their fire plan in the wake of last week’s devastating Adelaide Hills fire.

Tea Tree Gully fire brigade captain Daryl Klingberg said tragedies occurred when people were not adequately prepared for a fire and left it too late to leave.

“It’s about being prepared, having plans — you make that decision to stay and defend or go.

“If you stay and you’re prepared, you’re usually all right. If you’re not prepared you must go.”

More than 30 cats and dogs died in the fire and others were evacuated as kennel owners in the district came to terms with the blaze.

He said property owners needed to consider animals ranging from pets to horses and sheep when making fire plans.

“Pet kennels need to have a fire and evacuation plan and they need to make sure they have good firefighting equipment on their property that is regularly tested and run,” he said.

“These places should run fire drills with their staff and make sure they know how to use the pump and set things up.”

David Klingberg, who is Daryl’s brother and the owner of the Golden Grove Boarding Kennels decided to stay and defend his property and animals, while Hedgegrove Boarding Kennel owner Belinda McAlpine evacuated animals in the middle of the night.

The fire came within about 4km from the kennels, both on Greenwith Rd at Golden Grove.

David Klingberg said he and his wife Wendy had copped hurtful abuse over the phone and on Facebook for their decision to stay but insisted it was the right call.

Mr Klingberg, who has lived in the area his whole life and fought in the Ash Wednesday fires, said his Daryl had inspected the property and endorsed his decision to stay.

The topography of his site was very different to that of another kennel in Inglewood where animals perished, he said.

He was protected by two large sand quarries, had plenty of fire fighting hoses and pumps and an evacuation plan and spent 72 sleepless hours listening to fire alerts and radio coverage.

He said there was also an influx of displaced pet owners turning up on their doorstep throughout the crisis, hoping they could house their animals.

Mr Klingberg posted videos of his animals on Facebook to keep owners updated.

Belinda McAlpine, who took over Hedgegrove Boarding Kennel on November 10, decided to evacuate at 12.30am on the first night of the fires after receiving CFS alerts.

She called on staff, friends and other volunteers to load about 80 dogs, 60 cats, some guinea pigs, three birds and a rabbit into cars and a horse float.

The fire destroyed the Tea Tree Gully Boarding Kennel and Cattery in Inglewood, where only 45 of 80 cats and dogs survived.

Daryl Klingberg said owner Paul Hicks was a Paracombe CFS member who attempted to fight but was overwhelmed by the intensity of the fire.

[sandgrubber]

Link below to a news article published today regarding SA CFS advising that pets should be included in bushfire plans in the wake of last week’s devastating Adelaide Hills fire:

CFS says pets-should-be-included-in-bushfire-plans

“Pet kennels need to have a fire and evacuation plan and they need to make sure they have good firefighting equipment on their property that is regularly tested and run,” he said.

“These places should run fire drills with their staff and make sure they know how to use the pump and set things up.”

When I had a kennel I was pretty sure we could defend the space against fire. Irrigated lawns, lots of open space with low fuel loading, good pump and sprinkler systems, etc. However, there was no way to ensure that dogs wouldn't be asphyxiated by smoke from adjoining properties.

CFS/SES and local authorities need to do more than tell people what they should have a plan. It requires a deep and full understanding to devise a workable plan, and plans would be much more workable if they were coordinated through the SES.

Edited January 15, 2015 by sandgrubber

[The Spotted Devil]

CFA do their best in my neck of the woods (as do I as co-ordinator of our local CFG group) but getting people interested in making PROPER written fire plans is extremely difficult. We have meetings, brochures, seminars etc etc. You can lead a horse to water and all that. Doesn't matter how many times you tell people NOT to expect a warning or a fire truck to be at their beck and call.

[VizslaMomma]

CFA do their best in my neck of the woods (as do I as co-ordinator of our local CFG group) but getting people interested in making PROPER written fire plans is extremely difficult. We have meetings, brochures, seminars etc etc. You can lead a horse to water and all that. Doesn't matter how many times you tell people NOT to expect a warning or a fire truck to be at their beck and call.

There is an attitude of it will not happen to me.

But fire can happen, and so often, unexpectedly.

DaddyVizsla has made sure any property we have had in bush fire zones had as much as possible done to protect it.

We had roof sprinklers, cleared guttering, and a pool with generator attached. The year after we moved out was the year fires came.

Edited January 15, 2015 by VizslaMomma

[Stressmagnet]

OFF TOPIC SORT OF

I've been looking at boarding kennels for Ernie. One of the ones I've been looking at (Janarlee Lodge) has a complete explanation of their Fire Safety Precautions on their About page. It certainly makes me feel more inclined to board my Ernie there.

[*kirty*]

Merlin, the cat who miraculously survived the fire, has lost his fight. RIP brave boy, thoughts are with his family.

[Loving my Oldies]

Oh no!!! That poor little darling. He must have been in so much pain and so sick. RIP little Merlin.

[Animal House]

. Poor Merlin

[OSoSwift]

Shit, RIP little man, so courageous. Such a horrific time

[VizslaMomma]

So so sorry to hear this.

Love to his family at this awful time.

[westiemum]

RIP little Merlin. Pain free now. My Sam and George will look after you.

[labadore]

I was checking the Petition sites calling for an investigation into the deaths of the pets in this fire and noticed this recent post from the previous owner of the kennels.

jeanette sadleir, SA

Feb 18, 05:46

# 5,988

I am a former owner of the kennels, I am very angry and feeling so much guilt for selling the kennels to Elizabeth and Paul Hicks, clearly negligent, did not really care, leaving the animals makes me feel sick to my stomach, these people are mongrels, I would urge people who support the owners to physically go to the kennels, see that all of the homes around the kennels were untouched, there was a sprinkler system that surrounded the propery, water pumped from the dam, there is a pool, big concrete area next to the cattery, untouched, after visiting the site, I came away feeling so so angry, these people do not deserve to own any animals, gutless mongrels, hope they rot in hell. There were only 10 cat rooms and 40 kennels. The only conclusion I can come to is that there was no one at the kennels, that's why they perished. Paul Hicks stated on national television he was not there, proof in his own words of negligence. I am so sorry to those owners of animals who have perished. get angry, don't think those people cared, go to the kennels and see for yourself, you have every right to.

[Dame Aussie]

Wow

[OSoSwift]

There was a fair amount of rain after the fires, the water may have been used, it may have refilled.

I do wonder when people do put statements like this out in the public domain. It is a blurry line

[casowner]

The water ran out, the new owners did a lot of work to make it better than the previous owners. The fire crew put their own animals there, even the water bomber guy had his own pet there. Paul was with the CFS on the trucks fighting the fire. How can they say they visited? The property is cordoned off unless they were tresspassing, there are more sides to the story and no one will ever be happy with any of them unfortunately

[OSoSwift]

yes there are at least three sides to every story

[poochmad]

Not nice, especially if untrue.

Just raises it back in the public eye again.

[westiemum]

That post for the former owner is highly suspicious, contains a lot of supposition is is very short on fact. Absence is not negligence. Says far more about her than Paul and Elizabeth Hicks.

[OSoSwift]

That post for the former owner is highly suspicious, contains a lot of supposition is is very short on fact. Absence is not negligence. Says far more about her than Paul and Elizabeth Hicks.

agreed

[labadore]

Article published on examiner.com last night

Tragedy at Tea Tree Gully

Tragedy at Tea Tree Gully

March 2, 2015 9:01 PM MST

Dozens of animals lost their lives at Tea Tree Gully Kennels and Cattery

On January 3, 2015, 45 animals who were trapped in their kennels died in a bushfire in Adelaide, Australia – but animal advocates contend that these deaths were completely preventable.

A wildfire was scorching much of Adelaide in early January and numerous warnings and offers of help went out to kennels throughout Adelaide, which either evacuated their animals or stayed on-site. Those who stayed successfully fought the fire, using myriad fire defense systems, including sprinklers and natural fire stops from prior planned burns.

But the animals at Tea Tree Gully Kennels and Cattery (TTG), which was nestled in the foothills of Adelaide, were not evacuated – and no one stayed to fight the fire, either. Alone, kenneled, and in the direct path of the fire, the animals were completely helpless as the inferno approached.

Prior to the fire, Tea Tree declined having a planned burn to protect their property, and then as the fire crept closer to the property, they declined assistance to have animals evacuated.

And when the fire reached Tea Tree, there was nothing – and no one – to stop it. That morning, 25 cats and 20 dogs burned in their kennels, dying horrible, painful deaths when no one came to help them.

According to Tea Tree Gully fire brigade captain Daryl Klingberg, "tragedies occurred because people were not adequately prepared for a fire and left it too late to leave."

So why weren’t the animals evacuated – and who was at Tea Tree during the fire?

Conflicting reports about the whereabouts of the Hicks family started coming in. Multiple accounts stated that no one was manning the kennels when the fire raged through. Many reported that Elizabeth Hicks and one of her daughters were actually in the U.S. during the fire.

Despite the fact that their website stated, “As we enjoy our new lifestyle, your pets will enjoy their time with us as we will be living on the premises and right there with them, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week,” Paul Hicks was reportedly not at the kennels, either – not on the night before, and not the day of the fire. A radio interview with Hicks’ supervisor indicated that Hicks likely hadn’t been at the property as Hicks originally said that he had. According to multiple eyewitnesses, no one was at the kennels the night before the fire.

So what, exactly, were paying customers paying for?

Tea Tree Gully’s Facebook page appeared to have conflicting updates from multiple different people – some of which didn’t realize the severity of the fires – perhaps because they were half a world away.

Paul Hicks, owner of Tea Tree, also gave pet owners conflicting answers: First he told them that there was an evacuation plan – and then he stated that no animals would be evacuated.

After the fire, pet owners were still left in the dark, as no one gave them so much as a text message to let them know if their family members had survived the blaze.

Tony Mawdsley, Jr., whose father owned TTG from 1995 to 2003, didn’t understand why the kennels burned down, as the property had an elaborate sprinkler system. Jeanette Sadleir, who owned the kennels until 2010, when she sold the company to the Hicks family, concurred.

Sadleir stated: “I’m a former owner of the kennels. I am very angry and feeling so much guilt for selling the kennels to Elizabeth and Paul Hicks…

“… leaving the animals makes me feel sick to my stomach. I would urge people who support the owners to physically go to the kennels – to see that all of the homes around the kennels were untouched. There was a sprinkler system that surrounded the property, water was pumped from the dam, there’s a pool, there’s a big concrete area next to the cattery… After visiting the site, I came away feeling so, SO angry. The only conclusion that I can come to is that there was no one at the kennels – and that’s why they perished.

“Paul Hicks stated on national television that he wasn’t there. I’m so sorry to those owners of animals who have perished. Get angry. Don’t think that those people cared.”

Supporters of the Hicks family stated that Paul Hicks had to be away from the property because he was a volunteer firefighter, but that rationale didn’t explain away Elizabeth’s absence – or the family’s lack of preparation and refusal of assistance.

Shortly after the tragedy at Tea Tree, a petition asking for justice for the victims of the kennels was created. It stated:

On January 3, 20 dogs and 25 cats died when abandoned, trapped in their cages at TTG Boarding Kennels and Cattery, during the horrific Adelaide South Australia bushfires. The 45 animals burned alive when an executive evacuation order was allegedly given for the property (40 other dogs in a separate building survived).

We are seeking an inquiry into the reasons for neglecting to save these beloved pets despite: conditions being well-known and reported in mainstream and local media; multiple offers of help from volunteers; multiple inquiries from pet owners on whether to collect their animals on the TTG Boarding Facebook page (posts allegedly deleted BEFORE the entire page was deactivated by the business owners); multiple warnings from SA Police, Country Fire Service, and extensive road closures. In light of other animal facilities evacuating all of their charges expeditiously during the event, we are also seeking guidelines for MINIMUM STANDARDS to be discussed, ratified into legislation and applied to animal boarding facilities in fire-prone South Australian areas, so that a tragedy of this magnitude has little chance of recurrence. Although the animals who perished can't be replaced, we are hoping for something positive to come from the heartbreak. We call upon the SA Government to instate as a matter of urgency an inquiry into these concerns.

The petition later added: “We are more determined than ever that the perpetrators of this mass horrific crime be held accountable, for a very long time. Our activists are highly dedicated, and you'd be aware that some occurrences transpire behind the scenes in order to attain justice. We can tell you there's been NO announcement OR APOLOGY from them.”

You can see and sign the petition here.

In the wake of the disaster, the owners of Tea Tree Gully Boarding Kennels and Cattery took to Facebook. Their post stated:

We did manage to save in excess of 40 dogs. Devastatingly, we lost the cattery and none of the cats survived. We love all the animals in our care and are devastated by this. Our deepest sympathy to all who have suffered a loss. We have lost a home, business and pets we love and feel so awful about the loss of people's beloved pets."

Other kennels either evacuated their animals or stayed on and successfully fought the fire, using myriad fire defense systems, including sprinklers and natural fire stops from prior planned burns.

But the animals at Tea Tree were not evacuated – and no one fought the fire, either.

So many unanswered questions remain. Who was at TTG during the fires – and who wasn’t? Why weren’t any of the fire deterrent systems used? Why weren’t any animals evacuated – or at least placed into the safer low-grass area? Why were lies perpetuated about roads being “blocked” when they were open for residents?

The details surrounding the tragedy at Tea Tree remain as murky as that fateful, smoke-filled day. And as the RSPCA investigates, animal advocates worldwide still wait for answers.

Updates to this story will be posted as they occur.