Not Over-reacting??

Well, in my mind i wasn't over-reacting, and even now, 2 hours after it's happened i can't say i would have done or said anything different.

I was driving down the track after picking the DD's up from the school bus. My neighbours property starts at the corner and in their paddock was a bonfire that had been going since this morning. It was smoking alot which is nothing unusal as i swear the neighbour doesn't know how to light bonfires properly lol. What caught my eye was flames on the outside of the fence line a fair distance away from the bonfire. There's alot of undergrowth around especially along the fences where the mowers/slashers can't get to and neighbour hasn't completley slashed his paddock so there is still alot of dry bracken/grass in places. I went to see if neighbour was home to let him know, nope, not home. Grabbed a couple of buckets of water and went back up track to put the flames out. They were about knee height and had crept out further. I doused them then went back for more water as the scrub on the inside of the fence had taken off too. I went back a 3rd time to get water and was about to drive into the paddock when neighbour came home. I told him what i was doing, DD9 backed me up with what i said as she had helped me douse the flames. His response may aswell as been Meh, whatever and he walked off to take the buckets back where they came from, didn't go and check the fire! Grrrr i was ropeable then and so was DD9, if looks could kill she certainly would have shot neighbour down lol. I spoke to Neighbour's wife and she just hung her head in shame and said thanks for what we did. I told her, for the millionth time, they shouldn't leave the property if they've got bonfires happening no matter how insignificant they may be. It's been dry here for the past 4 days, the wind had picked up late this afternoon.... i said alot more as the anger was rising but it was only falling on deaf ears so i left.

What really gets me is his attitude to the situation. They were the ones who pushed for the community to have regular fire safety meetings when they moved out to the bush and what he has done just proves he's taken no notice of those meetings. I don't care that they had visitors from America who they took sight-seeing, the fire should never have been lit if they knew they weren't going to be home to tend to it!

Grrrrrrrr, there is nothing more for me to say without wanting to throttle the guy! I still believe i wasn't over-reacting. There is enough dry scrub around to have caused a major fire, had it kept travelling down the fence line it would have met our property which hasn't been slashed yet and has 2 year old haybales scattered around the place!

I think i'm done :P

Until next time
it's better to over-react then do nothing
-x-