Free Bushfire! by Bindi Irwin Page A

other in dismay.
    Richard finally approached the top. His face and neck were wet with sweat. “What a day! It’s got to be over 80 degrees already and it’s only 8 a.m.” He mopped his face.
    â€œDad, we’ve got some bad news,” said Rosie.
    Richard laughed. “Don’t tell me, you’ve just seen three more animals and won the game?” He chuckled. “I can take defeat gracefully.”
    Rosie pointed, and Richard turned to stare at the thick mass of smoke. Even as they watched, it grew darker and spread farther across the national park. The high temperatures and strong westerly winds were fanning the flames of a fire.
    â€œOh dear.” Richard’s expression was serious.
    As head vet at the Australian Wildlife Hospital, Richard was well aware that a fire in this kind of bush could mean hundreds of displaced and injured animals, to say nothing of threatening the homes and property of people who lived in the area.
    He turned to the friends with a grim expression on his face. “We’d better hurry back, girls. It’ll be all hands on deck at the wildlife hospital.” Richard took one last look at the fire and turned to make his way down the path at a brisk pace.
    Bindi and Rosie hurried after the vet. All thoughts of their earlier game had vanished. The sooner they got to the hospital the better!

The Australian Wildlife Hospital was already humming with activity when the Bellamys and Bindi arrived. The staff was busy on the phones, and nurses moved rapidly down corridors. Richard disappeared almost immediately. He had plenty to do.
    Rosie and Bindi had spent hours helping out at the hospital and knew what needed to be done in an emergency like this. The friends made their way toward the laundry. The staff would need plenty of extra bandages and clean towels folded and stacked at the ready. The girls worked quickly. After they had created a good stockpile of materials, they were eager to find more ways to help out.
    Bindi was always amazed by the size of the hospital. There was a nursery for the baby animals, consultation rooms, treatment rooms, operating rooms, an intensive care unit, a pathology department, a pharmacy where all the medication was held, a staff room, and a kitchen. Richard was the main vet but there were six others who worked full-time in the hospital, loads of nurses, administration staff, and a huge number of volunteers, which the hospital depended on in order to survive. The hospital was open 24 hours a day and its policy was to never turn away an animal in need. It was a massive operation!
    The girls found Richard and a couple of other staff members busily creating extra space in the conference room for animal patients.
    Bindi shook her head in disbelief. “Do you really think we’ll get this many injured animals?”
    Richard shrugged. “Hopefully not, but it’s better to be prepared. We won’t have time to do this later on.”
    Richard’s mobile rang. “Dr. Bellamy speaking.” As Richard listened to the caller, he pulled out two bottles of water from a fridge and passed one to each of the girls.
    â€œGot that. We’ve been waiting for your call. Thanks.” Richard ended the phone call and slipped his mobile into his back pocket. Grabbing a few more bottles of water, he said, “Drink up, girls. You’ll need to keep your fluids up. That was our official call to action.”
    The hospital was sending rescue teams to treat the animals that had been pulled from the fire. The animals would be given on-the-spot treatment before being brought back to the hospital. Bindi couldn’t believe it! She would be going out on site to help animals right at the time they needed it most.
    Richard rushed down the hospital corridor, heading for the rescue vehicle. Bindi and Rosie didn’t need any more encouragement. “Animal rescue, here we come!”

    With Richard at the wheel, Rosie and Bindi