Fire stories of tragedy and survival - and no small amount of ingenuity - are starting to come in. Mutoh Australia's Russell Cavenagh reached out directly to customers at ground zero now that a little respite is in the air.
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| A 30km traffic jam of tourists evacuating fire-affected area. Image: Aust. Federal Police |
Cavenagh told wideformatonline: "I’ve spoken to a few mates in the signage and print game in some of the affected areas and comments back such has ‘hell has been unleashed’ will give you some idea of how it is. One guy mentioned how his business is on the Princess Highway at Milton NSW and at 11:00am on the evacuation days there was a non-moving, 30 kilometre traffic jam that didn’t start to move until 2:00am the next day!
In a heartwarming display of community support, he adds: "Residents of the town were inviting car and truck occupants in for meals and to use the toilets etc that was in the town – imagine what it was like for the people stranded out of town surrounded by bushland. It’s hard to imagine."
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| "We'll print for you" - Mutoh's help offer |
Mutoh has been quick to offer whatever practical support it can: "We have discussed internally how Mutoh Australia can assist directly and we think the best thing we can do is to offer a free trade printing service to the affected business while they get back on their feet. This can be done by either them sending us the work to print or, alternatively, visiting us to use our UV and EcoSolvent showroom equipment in Artarmon, Sydney."
In a separate eye-witness account, Geoff Richards of Bay Signs, Batemans Bay, NSW, emailing from a mobile phone connected to a car battery, said:
