General News
23 October, 2023
Summer Series: Preparing with Dunolly CFA
With the spring weather well and truly here, the Dunolly Fire Brigade is warning residents now could be the last opportunity they have to prepare their properties for the coming fire season. Long range forecasts from the Bureau of Meteorology note...
With the spring weather well and truly here, the Dunolly Fire Brigade is warning residents now could be the last opportunity they have to prepare their properties for the coming fire season.
Long range forecasts from the Bureau of Meteorology note that from November to January, maximum temperatures are at least twice as likely to be unusually warm for almost all of the country as the impacts of El Niño begin to be felt.
With the Dunolly brigade attending several fires in recent weeks, the brigade is urging residents to be hyper-vigilant.
“The challenge we face in Dunolly is that the area we cover is half urban and half rural,” Captain Greg Humphrey said.
“We certainly turn out to incidents like house fires and that sort of thing, but we also see a number of fires at weekender properties too and that’s my concern coming into this time of year.
“The people who come up on weekends or to holiday need to make sure their properties are fire ready now and they need to maintain their properties.”
Captain Humphrey said of particular importance is ensuring grass is kept low and fire breaks are in place.
“Fire breaks can be very effective when used properly,” he said.
“All you need is a lawn mower to keep the grass around the boundary of your property as short as possible, which slows or stops the spread of a fire because there’s no fuel for it to burn.
“I’ve attended fires where properties have been saved because there have been fire breaks in place — they can also save the properties of your neighbours.”
CFA advises residents to ensure access to properties is clear for emergency service vehicles, with a minimum gate width of four metres required and at least four metres vertically clear of any entry point.
Captain Humphrey said particularly for more rural properties, this was a necessity.
“It takes time for us to turn out to incidents and if we arrive and can’t access the driveway because there’s a low hanging branch or the gate isn’t wide enough, it takes even longer,” he said.
“The last thing we want is to be in a position where we can’t protect property because we can’t fit through a gate, so make sure your driveways meet the clearance guides set out by CFA.”
The CFA website has extensive property management and fire mitigation advice and resources available at www.cfa.vic.gov. au/plan-prepare/how-to-prepare-your-property.