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Are you ready for a bushfire?

The Gippsland region is one of the most fire-prone areas in the world and we have days of extreme fire danger every summer. With the threat of climate change, those days could well increase in frequency in the future.

By Department of Sustainability and Environment - 19th October 2005 - Back to News

Fire is a natural part of the Australian environment and the fire services believe that people who live in bushfire areas need to accept and manage the risk around them.

Gippsland's fire agencies are working closely together to help protect our regional communities from the threat of fire, both on private property and in our forests and parks.

The Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) and Parks Victoria staff are responsible for managing fire on public land: through both the suppression of summer wildfires and the planning and conducting of prescribed burning operations in spring and autumn to help reduce the threat of wildfires.

CFA is responsible for fighting fires on private property and educating the community about fire safety and our own protection and preparedness for fires.

CFA has conducted major community education programs each summer since 1997 when their program of summer street corner meetings began. Other programs such as Community Fireguard have also been well supported and have proved effective in fire education.

CFA Community Education Coordinator for Gippsland, Anna Larkin said that DSE and Parks Victoria are working closely with the CFA to increase public awareness and understanding of the bushfire risk and to improve the level of preparedness and safety of all Victorians living in or visiting areas where bushfires can occur.

"Fire Ready Victoria is a joint strategy of CFA, DSE and the Metropolitan Fire Brigade which aims to educate residents in areas of high bushfire risk to help them better understand the fire risk in their area and how fire may impact on themselves and their community," Anna said.

"Fire Ready Victoria is about understanding how fire agencies prepare for fires, developing personal bushfire survival plans, developing self-reliance and being prepared and ready to deal with the threat of fire."

Fire Ready Victoria is coming to a place near you very soon - it could be at your local hall, on a street corner, at a friend's house or at your local DSE office or CFA shed.

If you are interested in attending a Fire Ready meeting or want further information on how to prepare yourself, your family and your property for the threat of bushfire, please contact Anna Larkin on 5149 1000 or visit the CFA website at www.cfa.vic.gov.au

Source: http://gippsland.com/

Published by: news@gippsland.com

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