FRNSW makes most of bushfire prevention efforts ahead of possible next threat – VIDEO - Glendale (Newcastle)
Published: 22 Dec 2022 09:38am
Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) is exhausting all efforts to protect communities from their most significant grass fire risk in more than a decade.
Two years of above-average rainfall has increased fuel loads, meaning any grass fire which breaks out over coming weeks has the potential to be larger and more intense than normal.
This is particularly the case in the state’s west, which bore the brunt of the most recent floods.
FRNSW is continuing its focus on where the city meets the bush, implementing measures which protect homes, businesses and critical infrastructure on the urban-rural interface.
In the last fortnight, FRNSW firefighters conducted a hazard reduction burn in a fire-prone 28-hectare area of Glendale, Lake Macquarie.
Their careful efforts have helped safeguard dozens of homes, a school and the local TAFE campus, which border upon a highly combustible woodland area.
While months of wet weather has significantly impacted planned fire mitigation efforts, FRNSW is making the most of every opportunity for hazard reduction operations.
FRNSW Bushfire & Aviation Commander Scott Donohoe is urging homeowners and landholders to follow firefighters’ lead and take precautions now.
“It could only take a few days or weeks of hot and dry weather to ignite current heavy fuel loads and create a fire emergency in our own backyards,” Superintendent Donohoe said.
“We can’t control what the weather does but we can all take steps to protect ourselves, our families and our property from the potential impacts of fire.”
Households are urged to prepare their Bushfire Survival Plan and discuss what they would do if a bushfire threatened their home.
Farmers should also establish firebreaks around paddocks, homes, sheds and equipment, to slow a fire’s spread.
All residents should familiarise themselves with the new fire danger ratings which have been developed and implemented for the current season.
Further information is available on the FRNSW (http://fire.nsw.gov.au [external link]) and NSW Rural Fire Service (http://www.rfs.nsw.gov.au [external link]) websites.
EDITORS NOTE: Video footage of the recent hazard reduction burn in Glendale, Lake Macquarie, is available via the following web link: https://vimeo.com/783093520/ecefd2841e [external link]
Updated: 27 Jan 2023 05:14pm
Related safety topics
It“s the law to have at least one working smoke alarm installed on every level of your home.
Most people have a plan for what they will do during a bushfire. Unfortunately, not every plan will withstand the test of a bushfire. Take 5 minutes to improve or make a plan at www.myfireplan.com.au [external link]
Details about this incident may change and should not be used as emergency information and/or advice.
For all life threatening emergencies, call Triple Zero (000)
For flood information, warnings or requests for non-life threatening assistance, call the SES on 132 500 or visit the NSW State Emergency Service website here. [external link].
For information directly relating to bushfires please call the Bush Fire Information Line on 1800 679 737 or visit the NSW Rural Fire Service Website here. [external link]