Fire ready call rings out

CASEY residents are being warned to be fire ready and not to be complacent this summer.
The City of Casey is at a higher-than-usual risk of grass fires this summer due to heavy rains throughout spring and early summer, according to the CFA.
City of Casey Mayor Sam Aziz said the best way to ensure people’s safety was for them to be ready to leave early and to have a Bushfire Survival Plan in place.
Residents can visit the CFA website for information about determining their fire risk and prepare a Bushfire Survival Plan accordingly.
“According to the CFA, fire danger ratings help to predict fire behaviour and are the trigger to act on your plan,” Cr Aziz said.
“Residents need to be responsible for knowing the fire danger rating in their area to stay safe – the higher the rating, the more dangerous the conditions.
“It is also important to know when it is a total fire ban day, and what you can or can’t do to reduce the risk of fire occurring on these days.”
To keep up-to-date with current fire danger ratings, total fire ban days and their restrictions in the City of Casey, residents should visit the CFA website.
They can also access information on emergency messaging including alerts and warnings from the CFA.
The City of Casey urged individual residents on large blocks of land to be actively slashing grass to a height of 100cm around boundaries and dwellings to ensure the risk of the spread of fire is kept to a minimum.
“Before carrying out slashing activities with motorised equipment, residents should always refer to the CFA website for the fire danger ratings and know if its safe and if you can or can’t,” Cr Aziz said.
“Annually, the council maintains static water locations (water tanks), fire access tracks and strategic fire breaks to ensure preparedness for the fire season.
“It also ensures that its roadside vegetation management program is implemented as part of this preparation work.”
Cr Aziz said in preparation for the fire danger period, the City of Casey had also reviewed its Neighbourhood Safer Places and Township Protection plans to ensure they were current and meet CFA compliance standards.
For information about fire Neighbourhood Safer Places and Township Protection Plans for the City of Casey, residents should visit the City of Casey or CFA websites.
Residents can also contact the CFA for a free home inspection to assess the fire risk on private property and get advice about adequately preparing their homes for the fire danger period.
For more information visit www.cfa.vic.gov.au or alternatively www.casey.vic.gov.au/fire.
The Victorian Bushfire Information Line is 1800 240 667.