A NARRE Warren firefighter, who was guest speaker at a wildfire forum in the United Kingdom, has described the Black Saturday fires as the fastest fires he has ever seen.
Tony Bundock returned home after addressing the wildfire forum for the Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service recently.
The Narre Warren South resident told the News the aim of the forum was to allow the UK fire agencies to discuss the issues of wildfire as a growing threat to rural areas.
Some of the other guest speakers on the day included Deputy Chief Officer of Essex Fire and Rescue Mark Jones and Sandy Phillips from the UK Forestry Commission.
More than 60 people from various fire and rescue services were at the forum.
During the talk, Mr Bundock gave a general overview about wildfire fighting in Victoria, as well as a first hand account about his firefighting efforts during Black Saturday.
Mr Bundock, who has been with the Narre Warren Fire Brigade for five years, was part of a strike team based in Warragul on Black Saturday.
“Although you don’t associate the UK with the same weather conditions that we have in Victoria, there is a surprising amount of fuel around at certain times of the year,” Mr Bundock said.
“Even a small fire can cause severe disruption to services and amenities given the high population of the UK.”
Mr Bundock said the forum went extremely well.
“We certainly left our UK counterparts with a good understanding of our issues and experiences,” he said.
Mr Bundock also spent some time at the Princes Road Fire Station in Ipswich where he got the opportunity to see how the Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service operated at a brigade level.
– Kelly Yates
