By Gill Cooper
New residents moving to fringe areas of Geelong such as Lara, are being urged to take the summer fire threat seriously, prepare a fire plan and not drive through smoke.
CFA volunteers and other emergency personnel remain on alert after Total Fire Bans have been in force across the state this week.
Lara Fire Brigade captain and Geelong Group Officer Roger Buckle said the influx of newcomers to five-acre lots and new housing estates on the edge of town created fresh challenges in preventing and responding to fire in the local community.
“When people first settle in an area their awareness of the risks is always an issue, particularly as our urban area pushes into rural land,” he said.
“There’ll be a lot of new estates as Lara expands and people living here need to be fully across their stationery risk and mobile risk. They need to have a fire plan in place.”
“Be really aware if you live on the fringe of town. Keep an eye on what’s going on around you,” he said.
Capt Buckle said in his experience, people moving to the country are often not used to transiting through rural areas.
“Just like flood waters, people should not be driving through smoke. They become disoriented and can’t see the road or the next vehicle ahead,” he said.
“If you see smoke in the distance on the Princes Highway or Bacchus Marsh, please don’t get on these major roads,” he said.
“Wire barriers are absolutely fantastic for preventing head-on crashes but if you drive through smoke and run into the rear of other vehicles it causes chaos. Then we will not be able to get into a fire.”
“Grass fires run hard here, and they get big and scary. We need to be able to respond quickly and efficiently and need volume (of water). That’s why our three tankers at Lara are so important.”
Lara Fire Brigade will run a community street meeting on the corner of O’Halloran’s Road and Bolero Street on February 2 at 9am to offer new residents in Manzeene Estate advice on preparing and responding to grass and bushfire.
