Five years since the Black Summer bushfires, the Forestry Corporation of NSW – responsible for managing NSW’s hardwood and softwood forests, is gearing up for another bushfire season in the state’s pine plantations. It comes as firefighters are now preparing for summer with a series of fire camps across the state, allowing staff to train on new and existing fireground equipment and appliances:
“As a firefighting authority, Forestry Corporation takes firefighting seriously, and we have a commitment to ensure we keep our people, our communities, and our estates safe,” Bathurst-based Stewardship and Fire Supervisor Dave Anderson said. “We hold three fire camps each year in different locations across NSW to train new staff towards their initial certification and to advance our current staff.”
Fire camps are week-long, intensive training sessions that prepare staff and train new teams for the upcoming fire season. Recently, 40 people attended a recent fire camp in Wallerawang, including eight staff members who trained, assessed, and mentored the team.
Senior Manager Fire and Natural Hazards Rebel Talbert said Forestry Corporation has trained firefighters across the state to respond to state forest fires across NSW: “Our staff are trained in forest firefighting and work closely with the other agencies to respond to fires when they occur…our statewide fleet includes fire appliances, pieces of heavy plant machinery, contracted aircraft, over a hundred drones, and trained pilots.”
“Our fleet of fire tankers and light vehicles fitted with fire-fighting gear and heavy plant like bulldozers, which is used in forest operations in state forests, are also made available by the broader forest industry to fight fires in NSW.”
A multi-year program is underway to upgrade Forestry Corporation’s firefighting fleet and improve safety for our firefighters. In response to a recommendation of the Independent Bushfire Inquiry, burn-over Compressed Air Foam System (CAFS) protection systems are being retrofitted to all existing light firefighting fleets and installed standard on new vehicles. In addition, new fire tankers are being purchased to replace ageing vehicles.
“As a statutory firefighting authority managing two million hectares of land and supporting community firefighting efforts across the landscape, it is vital that we maintain safe and efficient fleet and equipment and investments in our fleet will further enhance efforts made in recent years to improve the safety, efficiency and effectiveness of our fleet,” Ms Talbert said.
- To learn more about the 2019/20 Black Summer fires, and the risk to Australia’s forest estate, click here for Wood Central’s special feature.
