By Brendan Rees
Cardinia Shire is sending a stern warning to residents to clear their property of fire hazards before the fire season or face a fine of $1586.
The shire’s Fire Prevention Officers will begin inspecting properties before Christmas to check for fire hazards in the lead-up to the summer Fire Danger Period.
Shire officers will determine if owners need to reduce fuel loads on their property that may be a potential fire risk.
Cardinia Shire Emergency Management Coordinator Janette Schimleck, who made the announcement on Wednesday 15 November at the Cardinia Shire Council Civic Centre, said 3500 letters were sent to residents in bushfire prone areas in the past two weeks.
She said that if a fire hazard was detected, a Fire Prevention Notice would be issued to the property owner specifying the work required to reduce the fire risk.
“If it’s deemed as a risk then we will write to the owner and we’ll issue them a fire prevention notice asking them to clear their property.
“They’re given 21 days initially to prepare the property. If they don’t comply with that notice then we actually go in and forcibly clear that property,” Ms Schimleck said.
She said about 150 infringement notices were issued last year.
“We are hoping those numbers will be less this year.”
CFA Operations Officer Andrew Turner urged people to prepare now before the fire season.
“We expect people to leave early, not late at the last minute when the fire’s at their doorstep.”
He said residents should have a bushfire survival plan ready if they intended to stay.
Residents would need to have a permit of they wanted to have a fire in the open air during the Fire Danger Period or on a day of Total Fire Ban.
“Most likely your application won’t be approved unless there are exceptional circumstances,” he said.
He added that residents needed to check what fire restrictions were in place with their council.
Pakenham Police Acting Senior Sergeant Kim Warbuton said Operation Fire Set Up would be launched to detect “reckless behaviour”.
“Our aim is to reduce the occurrence and impact of the intention of reckless bushfire activity during the high-risk period,” she said.
“It’s a high-visibility in bushfire arson prevention detection operation.
“It has dedicated marked police patrols targeting areas of high risk, particularly over the fire period in November to April.”
She urged the community to report suspicious behaviour: “See something, know something, say something, obviously reporting methods are through Crime Stoppers or triple zero.”
SES Operations Officer Matthew Taranto said: “We see an increase in thunderstorms and flash flooding through the October to March period.”
He said it was important for residents to prepare their property for storms.
Cardinia Shire has also begun its roadside slashing program which runs from the beginning of November through to January.
For more information about reporting suspicious activity during the bushfire season visit http://www.cfa.vic.gov.au/contact/emergency-call-000/A4_poster_Arson.pdf
