Prepare your property now
NOW is the time to mow your lawns, clean your gutters, get combustibles away from the house and make sure you know your neighbours.
That is the word from local firefighters, who say there is a heightened risk of grass fires.
Tamborine Mountain Rural Fire Brigade First Officer Sam Webster said preparation is key.
“From my perspective every resident in a rural setting should have a bushfire survival plan. Regardless of what the weather says, the predictions, it’s always good to be ready,” he said.
“Having a bushfire survival plan is one of the best ways to ensure you’re prepared, so if the conditions change, a fire starts, or things get worse you’ve got a plan and you have made that decision nice and early about what you’re going to do.”
Be neighbourly
Tamborine Mountain Fire and Rescue Captain James Croak said fire safety was a shared responsibility.
“You’ve got to know your neighbours, it’s good to know how much water they’ve got on their property, can we get access to that water, whether it’s tanks or a pool, because we may need to access that at any given time,” he said.
“Prepare your property and house now. Clean your gutters, don’t bulk up the firewood next to or under your house, make sure gas bottles for barbecues are all current and compliant. In fires around the home, the most common thing is food or oils around the stove catching fire so have a fire blanket and know how to use it.
“If you do have a fire and put it out still call triple 0 because we have equipment to go into the residence and make sure it is safe.”
Get a permit
Mr Webster said to err on the side of caution when lighting fires.
“Anything over 2 metres in any direction requires a permit. Anything that’s hot work – grinding, welding, power tools outside, even mowing and slashing can spark the grass and cause it to take fire,” he said.
“Always check if there is a fire ban in place. If in doubt, get a permit. It is free for anybody to get a permit and it’s free for the rural fire service to assist with that permit. It’s great training for our members and helps landholders reduce risk, it’s a win-win for everybody.”
He said it was timely to focus on fire safety.
“At the moment what we’re seeing particularly around the Scenic Rim more broadly and that will start to move towards the mountain is a heightened risk of grass fires,” he said.
“Until we get some good rains come back through, I’d say the conditions we’re in right now we’re seeing an elevated grass fire risk.”
Locals are invited to an Emergency Services Open Day from 10am to 4pm, October 5 at the Tamborine Mountain Fire and Rescue Station, 126 Main Western Road.
