This weekend the NSW Rural Fire Service has invited the community to get involved in Get Ready Weekend to meet their local firefighters and help prepare for the bushfire season.
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More than 600 events across the state are held on September 22-23, featuring firefighting vehicle displays, information stands and kids activities.
Members from emergency services attended, including the NSW RFS, Fire and Rescue, NSW Police, Wagga Rescue Squad, NSW Ambulance and the NSW SES.
The Riverina’s operational officer Bradley Stewart said the bushfire risk has been heightened by the drought.
“Local areas like Tarcutta and Humula have got large stands of softwood plantations that are worth millions of dollars and that’s where the greatest level of risk is,” Mr Stewart said.
“The Great Dividing Range, the Alpine areas, anyone that is in close proximity to bush land, there’s always a risk of fires in grassland areas especially as they start to dry out.
“Because of the ongoing dry, the fuels that wouldn’t normally be available to burn, this year are available, so the fuel moisture content in those fuels is a lot less and therefore they’re more susceptible to be affected by fire.”
At some point, all Australians will be threatened by bushfires, it’s inevitable.
- Bradley Stewart, Operational officer Riverina.
The open day had a variety of equipment and transport on show, including a firetruck, liferaft and rescue boats, as well as a helicopter and SES bus.
“There were two pieces of equipoment that wouldn’t normally be in the Wagga area, and that included the state-of-the-art helicopter that we use for night flying, and the SES bus which is an operational control vehicle that can be deployed to major incidents,” Mr Stewart said.
Wagga mum Jameelah Naven attended the Get Ready event on Saturday morning, along with her partner and son Bailey Rolls, who had the opportunity of getting inside the emergency service vehicles.
“It’s great for use to learn all about the emergency services and preparing for the bush fire season,” she said.
“I saw the advertisement and I thought we better come down and have a look as we were not prepared for the bushfire season.”
The NSW RFS said having a bushfire plan and following these five simple steps will reduce the risk of a fire:
- Trim overhanging trees and shrubs
- Mow your lawn and remove all the cut grass
- Remove material that can burn around your home (e.g. door mats, wood piles, mulch, leaves, outdoor furniture)
- Clear and remove all debris and leaves from the gutters surrounding your home
- Prepare a hose or hoses that can stretch all around the house.
Mr Stewart said at “some point it’s inevitable that every Australian will be threatened by bushfires”.
“People need to know what their trigger points are going to be on days of elevated fire behaviour, and whether they are going to stay and defend or evacuate,” he said.
