CFA recently led a multi-agency exercise at Benalla Fire Station to hone their skills ahead of the fire season.
On 26 October, CFA, Victoria Police and Benalla Rural City Council participated in the Incident Management Exercise which brought together a range of skillsets in preparation for working in the local District Control Centre this summer.
The intent of the exercise was to replicate a fire igniting on a typical summers day in the Benalla region. The scenario the group faced was a grassfire in the Swanpool area on a hot, dry and windy day with increased fuel loads creating the perfect conditions for a fast-moving grassfire.
District 23 Acting Assistant Chief Fire Officer Steve Contessa said the exercise was written by the District Commanders in collaboration with Senior Sergeant Mark Byers from Benalla Police.
“Victoria Police used the opportunity to enhance their understanding of CFA’s Incident Control arrangements as well as training a number of their members to conduct Traffic Management and Evacuation roles within an Emergency Management Team environment,” Steve said.
“With the support of the District 23 Commander group, our local volunteers performed the roles of Incident Controller, Operations Officer and Planning Officer.
“Several other members assisted with mapping and radio communications.
“The day was a great success with very positive feedback given by all participants. We expect this to become an annual event in future years due to the important relationships between partner agencies that were built from it.
“A big thanks to the District 23 Commander group who worked hard to bring the event together and to our volunteer members who participated on the day. Well done all.”