Seasonal fire crew starts

Further training in South Australian Country Fire Service (CFS) courses are undertaken throughout the winter period to upskill staff in both fire ground roles and incident management teams.

Fire Management Officer Niall Stephens said that the training is part of yearly preparation for the fire season.

“Staff have completed safety and fire-fighting drills, tactical planning sessions and fitness testing,” Mr Stephens said.

“With the right weather conditions, we hope to have two to three prescribed burns conducted this spring, with burns planned for Bascombe Well Conservation Park and Munyaroo Conservation Park.”

Mr Stephens said the region has a range of equipment funded by SA Water, and the Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources (DEWNR) for the prescribed burning program and emergency fire response.

“Our training and fleet of fire vehicles is specifically designed around remote area firefighting in heavy scrub.

“Many people don’t know DEWNR fire crews are actually a Country Fire Service brigade and every year we work alongside the outstanding volunteer firefighters to help protect communities and the environment.”

For a number of years DEWNR has been working with CFS Bushfire Management Committees and the community to identify areas at the greatest risk of bushfire across the state. This has led to the development of Bushfire Management Area Plans that provide ratings of risk in each bushfire prone area and suggest activities to reduce this risk.

DEWNR and CFS are also working with private landholders to help them reduce the bushfire risk that may exist on their land.

Private landholders can get involved in this new program in the following ways:

• Owners of land identified as being high risk and in a strategic location for community protection may be contacted by DEWNR staff, the local council or a CFS Fire Prevention Officer to discuss options to reduce bushfire risk
• Owners that suspect their land may pose a bushfire risk to the wider community and are not able to manage the fuel independently can contact DEWNR staff for advice on whether the property has been identified as a risk and options for future management.

For more information on prescribed burning visit www.landscape.sa.gov.au/ep/land-and-water/fire-management