11 Jan Plan and Prepare! | Timboon CFA

Plan and Prepare!

As we are finally enjoying some Summer weather it is important not to lose sight of the fact that Victoria is one of the world’s most fire prone areas and to make sure we’re FireReady, whether we are staying home during these school holidays or travelling to other parts of our beautiful state.

Timboon Fire Brigade Lieutenant, Daryl Spencer, is asking everyone in our community to plan and prepare, stay safe and look out for others in respect to potential fires, extreme heat and heatwaves.

Daryl is the Maintenance Officer at Timboon and District Healthcare Service (TDHS) and has been involved with the local Timboon Fire Brigade for the last 7 years. As he works in town, he can jump in quickly during an emergency, so when the pager goes off, he downs TDHS tools and assembles at the Timboon fire station to go wherever the emergency takes him.

“In 2022 a new Fire Danger Rating system was introduced with 4 easier to read and understand ratings replacing the previous 7 complex ratings”, he said. “These ratings are your trigger to act and are displayed in the reception area at TDHS, throughout the district and Australia wide.”

 

There are four levels of fire danger in the new system:

• Moderate – Plan and prepare
• High – Be ready to act
• Extreme – Take action now to protect your life and property
• Catastrophic – For your survival, leave bushfire risk areas

Fire Danger Ratings will be issued on days when there is a fire risk.

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Daryl would also like to remind the community of the local Bushfire Neighbourhood Safer Place or Place of Last Resort in our local area:

• Timboon – Timboon and District Hall
• Port Campbell – foreshore
• Peterborough – Monument Car Park

As well as to plan and prepare, it’s also important to look after others during extreme heat or heatwaves.

“Keep in touch with sick or frail friends and family and check in on elderly neighbours and encourage them to drink plenty of water,” Daryl said.

For more information about warnings and restrictions and how to plan and prepare, while at home or travelling, please visit www.cfa.vic.gov.au.

There is also an important emergencyapp, called Emergency+app. It is a free app developed by Australia’s emergency services and their Government and industry partners. The app uses a smartphone’s GPS functionality to help a Triple Zero (000) caller provide critical location details required to mobilise emergency services. The app can be downloaded for free from the AppStore and Google Play.