December 11th, 2021FFMVic prepared for the fire season ahead
Forest Fire Management (FFMVic) has been busy preparing for the fire season across the Wimmera and Midlands Districts ahead of the bushfire risk increasing over summer.
FFMVic has recruited additional firefighters for the coming months, with 79 seasonal firefighters to work alongside our 300 permanent firefighters, incident management and support staff in the Grampians region.
The new recruits have been busy attending classroom, field and four-wheel drive training over the past few weeks to learn essential skills to protect communities and the environment from bushfires.
This year FFMVic has also been able to recruit an additional 22 Forest and Fire Operations Officers across the region, boosting our day-to-day and emergency response field operations capability.
Briefings for firefighters have now been held across the region, detailing the latest fire weather outlook and the upcoming challenges to keeping local communities safe this summer.
FFMVic and other government agencies also have teams of emergency management specialists on standby for the Ballarat and Horsham Incident Control Centres from late November, ready to lead a rapid response to any fires.
The Grampians region fleet of firefighting vehicles has been serviced and the large range of fire tankers and earthmoving machinery are now set for the upcoming season.
Waterbombing aircraft will again be based across the region at Nhill, Stawell, Ballarat and Bacchus Marsh to support all fire agencies response to bushfires.
FFMVic along with other fire response agencies will support these aircraft with specialist support staff and equipment.
Fire lookout observers have started to return to FFMVic’s network of fire towers to scan the forested landscape across the Grampians Region from Mt Blackwood near Bacchus Marsh in the east to Mount Arapiles in the western Wimmera area.
Grampians Deputy Chief Fire Officer Tony English: “As significant rainfall over spring has led to extensive grass growth, we’re preparing for a fire season with an increased risk of fast-running grass fires in the Grampians region.”“Our combination of experienced personnel, specialised firefighting vehicles and access to a range of aircraft means we’re equipped to have the best possible response to fires this summer.
“This preparation builds on our year-round program to reduce bushfire risk through activities such as planned burning, slashing, mulching, as well as creating and maintaining fuel breaks.
“Partnerships with other emergency management agencies, local government and the community are essential for any type of emergency response.
“FFMVic are committed to building these on these strong relationships in the Grampians Region to ensure a unified and swift response in any emergency situation.”
