By Molly Magennis
Maribyrnong and Hobsons Bay residents are urged not to be complacent about fire safety, despite forecasts for a wetter than average summer.
Fire Rescue Victoria commander John Jugum said that although both municipalities are fairly built up , parklands and grasslands still present a risk.
“There are some pockets particularly along the Maribyrnong [River] and some of the other parklands which can present an increased risk over the summer period,” he said.
“The risk is really about not so much bush like trees and scrub, it’s more about grass because grass tends to grow a lot when you get a lot of rain and it dries, it doesn’t take much to dry off with a few hot days, and then you’ve got an increased risk if that catches alight.
“For residents that adjoin grassland, if there is a fire … one thing that we ask people to do is to move two streets back away from the danger area. That allows firefighters to get in and do the work that they need to do to protect those homes.”
Commander Jugun said for people who plan to go away this summer, where they may not be familiar with the road networks or safe places in the area, the best thing to do is download the Vic Emergency app.
“A lot of people will travel during the holiday period and go to places that aren’t familiar, so we do ask them to download the Vic Emergency app and keep mindful of any emergency warnings or information that is issued in the areas that they travel too.”
Commander Jugun also encouraged residents to abide by standard fire and heat safety messaging, such as being mindful of fire ban restrictions, reporting any suspicious activity near grasslands and making sure children and the eldelry are not in the heat for too long.
