title: Black Saturday: the personal recollection of a doctor working during the worst bushfire in Australian history.
abstract: The date, 7 February 2009, will be known forever in Victoria, Australia as "Black Saturday". In the worst bushfires in Australian history, 173 lives were lost. Townships were razed. Over 1800 homes were destroyed, resulting in >7000 people being made homeless. The provision of health care to the injured, and then to the displaced communities, was provided by a range of health professionals, including paramedics, nurses, and doctors. This is a personal recollection of the related events.
authors.affiliation: Field Emergency Medical Officer Program, Health Displan Victoria, St Vincent's Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. j.moloney@alfred.org.au
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Moloney
mesh_terms: D001315:Australia; D002983:Clinical Competence; D004189:Disaster Planning; D004190:Disasters; D005390:Fires; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D033262:Narration; D010819:Physician's Role; D014947:Wounds and Injuries