By Tyler Wright
When the fire danger period begins at 1am on Monday 30 January this year in Cardinia Shire and the Yarra Ranges, residents are being urged not to be complacent.
Those who burn off without a permit during the fire danger period are at risk of getting slapped with a fine of up to $22,000 and/or a term of 12 months imprisonment.
“That’s for repeat offenders and people with significant burns that potentially have the risk of harming other people… initially it could be a fine, it could be a warning,” Emerald Fire Brigade Captain Klaus Brodeck said.
“One thing that people don’t realise is that during the fire danger period, police will co-respond with us to all jobs that come up as a burn off or illegal burn off. We have no say in that – the police will automatically attend and then it’s up to the police whether they fine the resident or what action they take.”
Mr Brodeck said even though we have seen quite a bit of rain, warm weather has approached and drying out the area quickly.
“Because Cardinia is such a diverse area, you’ve got down Pakenham…the Hills, part of Emerald, also Gembrook, Cockatoo and Pakenham Upper areas, there are areas that are quite bushy as well and quite spread out.”
“There are some significant bushfire risks… in the bush but also in the paddocks as well, when you get to paddocks with the grassfire that’s where they have the ability to travel quite quickly, particularly on windy days.”
“Even though we have had quite a bit of rain, we’ve had some warm weather of late and we’ve seen things dry out really quickly… if you look around the area there are some quite long grasses which can burn very quickly.”
For CFA units, the fire danger period signifies the time of year where fire is most likely to spread, and grasses and fuels are dried out the most.
Increased temperatures and faster winds are also expected to take hold during the period; creating the ingredients of possible big fire.
“When they actually announce the fire danger period, it’s not taken lightly. There’s a lot of consultation between CFA and councils and other departments to ensure that it’s done for the right period of time and not too long or too short,” Mr Brodeck said.
“It’s only done as a last resort, hence now Cardinia is at the end of January, which is pretty late. Normally it can be even October, November or December. So they really do focus on the conditions and we don’t know how long that will be in place for.”
Locals are advised to notify authorities of their plan to use fire to clean their property before the fire danger period through the Fire Permits Victoria Website (www.firepermits.vic.gov.au) or by calling ESTA on 1800 668 511.
To apply for a Permit to Burn during the fire danger period, residents can use the Fire Permits Victoria website.
However, strict conditions are attached to the permits.
“It’s not a done deal just because they apply for it; normally we have no burning during the fire danger period at all,” Mr Brodeck said.
“There has to be some due diligence done by the council as well by the prevention officer to see if it is worthwhile and it’s required…
“It is very rare that one does get approved.”
The Emerald Fire Brigade will update its social media and notice boards around the area, and will hold a fire danger period session on Thursday 2 February to educate the community on how they can prepare their property for fire.
“We’re continuing training as normal where we’re doing more and more hands on activities to ensure we’re ready if something does pop up later to assist with,” Mr Brodeck said.
CFA will be introducing further FDPs for municipalities in the coming weeks based on assessments of the amount of rain, grassland curing rate and local conditions.
Based on the latest outlook, the fire season is expected to be normal in Victoria, except for parts of central, north east and eastern Victoria where the potential is below normal.
More information about burn-off restrictions specific to your area can be found by consulting local council.
More information and restrictions are published at www.cfa.vic.gov.au/warnings-restrictions/fire-danger-period-restrictions.
Victorians can find out “Can I or Can’t I?” information at www.cfa.vic.gov.au/warnings-restrictions/can or by calling VicEmergency Hotline on 1800 226 226.
The fire danger rating system changed as of 1 September and is now nationally consistent across every state and territory.
The system reduces the number of danger levels from six in the previous system, to four; Moderate, High, Extreme and Catastrophic.
Information on the new fire danger rating system can be found on the CFA website.
