I reckon it's these guys who are more valuable than any politician passing on condolences....
'The 120-strong firefighting contingent from New Zealand, the United States and Canada will bring a range of firefighting and recovery skills, Andrew Graystone, Forest Fire Management Group international liaison officer, said.
“We are very grateful for the additional skills and knowledge that these people will bring to our firefighting response and recovery,” Mr Graystone said.
Fifty-two specialist aircraft operators, firefighters and supervisors will arrive from New Zealand on Friday night and a further 60 specialists from the US will arrive on Sunday.
The US contingent are experienced in tall forest firefighting, burnt area recovery, bulldozer management and incident management roles.
The burnt area recovery team will be able to help assess and rehabilitate any impact on water catchments.
Nine Canadian specialists will arrive in the middle of next week.'
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25048680-601,00.html