I am a volunteer firefighter in the New South Wales Rural Fire Service (Australia). As we sat down to Christmas lunch, my pager went off and at the same time the siren on the local fireshed sounded an alarm. It was the beginning of several very long days fighting a major fire. So Christmas dinner at home went cold, and instead I drank water and staminade, and ate steak sandwiches made by the local Salvation Army. A memorable year indeed.