CFA brigades from Mount Buller, Glenroy-Merrijig and Mansfield recently completed a training exercise simulating a fire set at Sugarbush Lodge Mount Buller.
The scenario involved an active laundry fire that resulted in the fire alarm system being activated, alerting residents, and smoke being spread throughout parts of the building.
CFA firefighters, Victoria Police, Ambulance Victoria paramedics and local residents all played a primary role in the event
CFA Commander James Wong said Mount Buller and other Alpine areas can be challenging environments to operate in and familiarity is essential.
“As the Victorian snow season has come to a close due to unseasonal conditions, CFA brigades in the Alpine region still need to be prepared to respond, to support local residents,” James said.
“CFA crews worked extremely well with their agency colleagues, which provided the opportunity for our brigades off the mountain to gain some familiarity with alpine firefighting and response complexities.”
James said it also helps local residents understand what to do when faced with a residential fire scenario.
“People need to have a fire plan all year-round, whether that is for your home or business,” he said.
“All the staff were safely evacuated to an assembly point in a timely manner and accounted for following training procedures.”
The training scenario also included people roleplaying with simulated injuries such as smoke inhalation, which were triaged and managed by paramedics.
Victoria Police attended to provide an Incident Emergency Response Coordination role, as well as traffic and evacuation management.
James said training scenarios like this are invaluable and illustrates the incredible response capability of CFA and our partner agencies.
“This was a great example of positive and proactive interaction and collaboration amongst emergency services and the community working together,” he said.
Other agencies and stakeholders such as Victoria State Emergency Service, Alpine Resorts Victoria, Buller Ski Lifts and Mt Buller Medical Centre were also involved as part of the incident emergency management team discussions.
| Submitted by |
Courtney Walker |