100 firefighters to be recruited to help ‘fireproof’ NSW
The state government is forking out $315 million in response to the post-Black Summer Bushfire Inquiry. Here’s how that money will be spent.
NSW
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A full-time squad of 100 firefighters will be created to build firebreaks around towns, clear trails and conduct critical hazard reduction to help “fireproof” the state.
The Sunday Telegraph can reveal the specialist mitigation squad, which will include more than 20 Indigenous crew members, is set to become a permanent part of the NSW Rural Fire Service to help prepare against future fire threats.
The members will supplement existing temporary teams to create a squad of “fireproofers” of more than 300 members.
The crews are part of a $315m package to be funded in the upcoming state budget in response to the recommendations of the NSW Bushfire Inquiry, with $191m to go to the RFS.
The package will include more than $105m towards a fleet of new fire trucks, with others to be retrofitted with safety features such as heat protection blankets and cabin protection sprays.
Another $10m will go towards enhancing strategic fire trails, although this is understood to be short of what firefighters believe is necessary to do the job.
The government will also put more than $75m towards a recommendation of the bushfire inquiry for a permanent mitigation team.
They will conduct hazard reduction on both public and private land, use machinery to create fire breaks and to clear control lines and access trails, enabling fireys to conduct burns. Previously, they have only been hired temporarily by the RFS.
The teams, most of whom have firefighting experience, will be based at 22 locations from Albury to Murwillumbah.
Premier Dominic Perrottet said the funding package was in response to the devastating Black Summer of 2019-20 and “will go a long way to ensuring the more than 1.3 million properties on bushfire-prone land in our state are better prepared for future fire seasons”.
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