Climate change and complacency are the two biggest fears for our fire fighters as the Illawarra heads into the official start of a new bushfire season.
The Rural Fire Service (RFS) this weekend held ‘Get Ready’ open days at most of its bases, urging residents to be ready for the fire season ahead.
Captain of the Mt Kembla RFS, Ben Jacobsen, said the changing climate meant distinctive fire seasons no longer applied. “Twenty years ago we had distinctive seasons but things are different now.”
It means the 16 volunteer firies in Ben’s team need to be on stand-by year round.
At Sunday’s open day the RFS teamed up with the Unanderra Fire and Rescue to help educate the community ahead of the hot summer weather ahead.
Start planning
Ben said the annual open days provided the ideal opportunity for the community to collect information and start planning.
“It’s also a recruitment opportunity where people can find out what we do.”
It’s been many decades since there’s been a major fire along the Illawarra escarpment and while that’s a good thing it’s also meant a significant build up in fuel load.
Don’t be complacent
“Another thing that also worries us is complacency. There are long-term residents who haven’t seen a fire in a long time. We’re finding it’s people who are newer to the area who are coming along to collect information and not those who’ve lived here for a long time.”
The Blake family from Cordeaux Heights make a visit to the Mt Kembla RFS open days an annual event. They were armed with a Bushfire Survival Plan and a sausage sizzle sandwich as they checked out the Mt Kembla facility.
“The kids like the fire trucks and we check out the map to see just how close we are to danger,” Sean Blake said.
“We’re living in a red zone and it’s been windy and hot. We certainly don’t want to get stuck if there’s a fire.”
The Blakes keep on top of preparing their property throughout the year and Sean said cleaning out the gutters is “today’s job”.
Things change quickly
Fire Captain Ben Jacobsen said it was hard to predict what sort of a fire season lies ahead. “Things change very quickly,” he said.
With two total fire ban days in the past week, all RFS members are bracing themselves for a busy season.
While there have been significant fires on the western side of the escarpment in the past five years, Ben said 99 per cent of the eastern side hasn’t burnt since 1968. He said a recent fire at Bulli Tops had the potential to come over the escarpment but thankfully it was contained before it did.
Gwynneville.
Dapto’s RFS members held their open day at Bunnings Kembla Grange on Saturday. Fire captain Todd Rogers said his 70-strong team was on standby after a dry spring so far.
People living closer to the bush
“We’re finding the population getting closer to the bush in places like Horsley and West Dapto, so it’s important people are well prepared.
Renee Formosa from Gwynneville dropped in to meet the RFS members while shopping at Bunnings and said while she lives in ‘suburbia’ she still thought it was important to stop in to pick up some tips and information.
with Marli Caton, aged 2, from Albion Park.
The Albion Park RFS captain, Les Miller, said his crew of 35 members had already conducted burn offs in the Calderwood area “and we have more planned if we get the right conditions”.
Hazards Near Me app
“We are encouraging people to be vigilant and to download the Hazards Near Me app so they can see exactly where the fires are.”
Les said his group was always looking for new recruits but the next intake probably won’t be until the end of this coming summer.
“We always prefer to recruit in the off season. Right now we have six new members who’ll be completing their training in the next three weeks ready for the new season.”
The official start date for the 2024-25 Bushfire Season is 1 October 2024 and runs through to 31 March 2025.
