As Forest Fire Management Victoria’s (FFMVic) planned fuel reduction burning program begins, CFA’s Property Advice Visit Service (PAVS) teams have been out around Lorne supporting them.
The PAVS teams have been doorknocking properties close to planned burn sites, distributing FFMVic’s literature explaining the works and answering householder’s questions.
According to Garth Wesson from the PAVS team, some residents were initially surprised to see CFA members involved in community engagement activities in conjunction with FFMVic.
‘But there seems to be a growing understanding in the community of the relationship between the agencies’, Mr Wesson said.
‘The locals already had an idea of where the fuel reduction burns were planned for and most were genuinely interested to discuss the program’, he said.
Parks Victoria Ranger Team Leader, Simon Dobie sees great benefit in having some of the leg work handled by CFA while field staff were occupied preparing a number of burns around Lorne.
‘Every day of skilled preparation is vital to undertaking a safe and effective burn program to reduce risk to our communities’, he said.
The new Forest Fire Management Victoria brand covers staff from the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, Parks Victoria, Melbourne Water and VicForests when undertaking emergency management and planned burning activities.
Author: Planned Burning Project