With the Fire Danger Period imminent for the Yarra Ranges, local police are urging residents to be prepared and aware of the dangers of fire season.
Planning is key to surviving any major fire event but police also want residents to understand the consequences for any reckless or intentional behaviour that causes fires.
Local area commander for the Yarra Ranges, Inspector Lee Coulthard-Clarke, said they’re expecting the fire danger period to start in the Yarra Ranges in late November or early December, and it’s really important that people understand that fires are likely to start, especially in hot, dry or windy weather.
“We all need to be aware of our surrounds in respect of fire, Victoria Police is committed to the ‘You Light It, You Own It’ campaign which is being run by Crime Stoppers and it’s important to know that any spark can start a fire,” she said.
“There is a penalty for recklessly starting a fire and that’s up to 15 years imprisonment and police will take action for those who recklessly light fires or deliberately light fires.
“We have a zero tolerance approach around that.”
Residents need to be wary of different causes of fires such as sparks from farm machinery or power too, leaving campfires unattended or burning off without a permit.
Inspector Coulthard-Clarke said she’d also like to ask people that if they see behaviour that could lead to a bushfire, they report it to their local police, Triple Zero or Crime Stoppers either by phone or online.
“The details that you should include or look to include in your report are the time, the place, the age of the person or persons, weight, height, hair colour, clothing and any vehicle description and police will then use that information to make relevant inquiries to identify those people,” she said.
“Going back to the Montrose fire, it was the observations of the local community that led us to identify those responsible.”
“Locally in the Yarra Ranges, we’ll be running a dedicated fire patrol during the fire danger period, which uses an intelligence-led approach to identify areas of interest or persons of interest who have previously been known to deliberately light fires in our community.”
Police encourage all residents to refresh themselves on their fire plan and if they don’t yet have one, to make one now.
Inspector Coulthard-Clarke said if the Fire Danger Rating is extreme or catastrophic, you are risking your life if you wait and see if the fire is coming.
“We can’t guarantee the presence of police or other emergency services during an evacuation time and we can’t always ensure that we can evacuate you so please look at the warnings and leave early,” she said.
“I would encourage everyone to download the VicEmergency app so that you can be proactive in keeping your eyes out for those warnings… the Montrose fire was so unexpected, being extreme and in the middle of the night, it caught everyone unaware.
“Our main remit is around traffic management and evacuation, and we support the control agency to do those things as best we can… we are in constant communication with our other agencies, so we can be absolutely prepared as possible for any emergency, whether that be flood, fire or otherwise.”
