Ouick response to Fires

Now that the 07/08 fire season is upon us, Victorians should know our firststrike capacity and whether all fire towers will be manned and from when.

With increasing fuel loads around the State due to limited reduction burning, aggressive and immediate detection and suppression are fundamental to limiting the spread of fires.

During its tour of Victorian firesites, the People’s Review of the Bushfires heard many complaints about inadequate first strikes and not enough effort being devoted to getting fires out as soon as possible. Remember, any fire starts as a small one. Tragic losses of biodiversity and wildlife over the last 4-5 years all started from small fires. Fires spread on “blow up days”but last summer the fires were already burning before these hot and windy days.

To attack fires as quickly as possible we need an efficient firespotting network but again, the People’s Review was disturbed to hear that some firetowers have not been maintained or were not manned last summer. The people of Victoria need good information on what is being done to prevent yet another occurrence of massive feral fires. These huge blazes are not inevitable, they are the result of small fires getting away. Tim BarkerPeoples Review of Bushfires