Rural Fire Service Queensland regional manager Alan Gillespie warns landowners to prepare

Now is the time for property owners to prepare for the peak of the bushfire season, but the region’s top firefighter has warned those conducting hazard reduction burns to operate within the rules.

The region’s top rural firefighter is urging landowners to stick to the rules after a series of permitted burns got out of hand in the past 10 days.

While encouraging land owners to prepare for the season by conducting hazard reduction burning now, Rural Fire Service regional manager Superintendent Alan Gillespie said it was vital for people conducting large scale burns to adhere to the conditions stipulated by their local fire warden.

He said the majority of calls his rural crews had attended in the past 10 days related to land owners operating outside the conditions of their burn permits, resulting in fires getting out of hand.

On one occasion, a landowner started a fire and left the property.

“Now is the time to conduct hazard reduction burning, but what I have been seeing is a surge in people not complying with the conditions of the permit,” he said.

“You need to comply. We do not make these conditions willy nilly. They take into account your ability to control a fire.

“We have had a few escaped hazard reduction burns and it is important to remember that if you start a permitted burn that gets out of control you are liable for any damage the fire causes.”

Mr Gillespie said fire authorities had spoken to the person who left the scene of a hazard reduction burn and they would be fined over the incident.

With the fire season about to get under way, preparations are already in place, with authorities putting a large air tanker plane on standby from September 1.

A major exercise will be staged near the Gold Coast next weekend, allowing crews to train in the midst of a real-life hazard reduction burn.

Mr Gillespie said the current fuel load on the ground across southeast Queensland was of concern.

“There is some thick bodied grass around due to the rain we had during winter, and the fact that it was relatively mild,” he said.

“There is a very high fuel load in rural areas, which can lead to fast running grass fires.”

Fire authorities are predicting an average risk of bushfires this year based on current conditions and the long-term weather outlook.

Anyone wanting to ask about conducting a hazard reduction burn on their property should contact their local fire warden.

For more information, visit the Queensland Fire and Emergency Service website.