OUT of control burn-offs leading to damage and criminal charges in Kerang and
Mildura have prompted the CFA to encourage residents to be aware of their
responsibilities.
CFA community education co-ordinator Kevin Sleep said
continual dry conditions in the Swan Hill region meant it was extremely
important people adhere to legal requirements on burn-offs.
“Even when we do
get rain, people still have to adhere to the requirements,” he said.
Despite
the Fire Danger Period ending in the Loddon Mallee region, Mr Sleep said there
was still significant dangers associated with minor burn-offs.
“The biggest
problem we have is people leaving fire unattended, they go and do another job,
there’s a slight wind change, the extra fuel leads off to burn a whole paddock,”
he said.
He said three such incidents in Kerang and four in Mildura had
prompted the warning, some putting lives at risk, or merely wasting CFA
volunteers’ time.
In one example in Murrabit recently, a burn off in a
paddock was not supervised and led to a roadside, where the base of a tree was
damaged, causing it to fall over and hit a passing car. The car’s occupants were
not injured but police laid criminal charges against the property owner who
started the burn.
Mr Sleep said, while nobody was hurt in that instance, the
next time might not be so lucky.
“This is why we’re being proactive about it
right throughout the Loddon Mallee region,” he said.
CFA regional commander
Mike Wassing said people burning off needed to remember that CFA volunteer
brigades were obliged to investigate all reports received.
“The community
needs to understand that for the most part, volunteers are the ones responding
to these calls and will need to leave their work or family to respond to the
many burn-off calls that become false alarms,” he said.
