Be prepared for fires this season says FESA

Rural WA has already had its first dose of fires this season and FESA chief operations officer Craig Hynes is expecting many more as summer gets underway.

Since the Victorian bushfires, bushfire management across Australia has undergone dramatic changes and FESA has revisited some of its systems to ensure the best possible management of fires, particularly in rural areas.

But WA farmers have raised concerns about the change in legislation which allows FESA to manage all major bushfires.

With dry paddocks and an extreme lack of rain increasing the risk, Mr Hynes said it was essential that landowners took the time to prepare their properties for summer and reduce hazards.

There have been many issues raised over the past year about bushfire management, especially after FESA implemented total fire bans in 2009.

This ban prohibited harvesting and the movement of vehicles in paddocks during a total fire ban which farmers said unnecessarily interrupted their harvest and delayed operations.

Mr Hynes agreed the total fire ban "caused some disharmony with a lot of farmers" and after consultation with the rural industry, the regulations were amended.

But it posed questions about FESA's lack of understanding of rural Australia and therefore its ability to control and manage bushfires.

Farmers have been concerned that fire fighters sent by FESA to control fires in the bush have had a lack of knowledge about rural areas and believe that local fires should be controlled by local officers.

Mr Hynes said rural knowledge and local officers were an integral part of controlling fires in regional areas and FESA would be employing more.

He said a budget increase would allow for more local officer positions throughout rural WA and there were already seven new staff in the Manjimup region.

The extra funds would also allow FESA to increase the standard of appliances and equipment that local governments receive.

"Employing local fire fighters with FESA is something we have been doing for a number of years and FESA and the local government community fire fighting program has been very successful," Mr Hynes said.

"FESA does have a lot of regional officers who work with local fire fighters who have a good working relationship.

"They are employed by local government and it's a very good partnership."

Mr Hynes said FESA and the Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) were integrating operations to ensure rural fires were managed in the fastest and most efficient way.

He said for most fires, DEC would respond to fires on their land tenure and local governments and farmers would control fires in their areas, although legislation had been changed so FESA could take control of all major bushfires.

But Mr Hynes said it was important for the DEC and local governments to work with FESA.

"For major fires we want to have an integrated approach with FESA taking the lead," Mr Hynes said.

"Every once in a while when there's a major fire such as Toodyay, you need to be working in the same system and same approaches.

"When we have a major fire, there is a need for everybody to be doing the right thing and to be working off the same plans, with one organisation making the decisions."

Mr Hynes said fire preparation was essential going into summer to ensure properties were hazard free.

He said the most important thing farmers could do was have a solid plan so they could act quickly in the event of a fire.

"If you live in rural WA, in a bushfire prone area and a fire is a surprise to you then you haven't made the right preparations," Mr Hynes said.

"You need to be aware that fires can start at any time during the summer months, and on certain days when the fire danger index is right up, farmers need to be taking extra precautions.

"Farmers should know how fire safe their property is."

He said vegetation around properties and power infrastructure should be maintained and equipment should be checked in the lead up to a fire season.

Mr Hynes said FESA was putting a lot of effort into improving communication within communities during a fire but farmers should ensure they had sufficient means of communication on them at all times.

"Public information is crucial; when we have a fire, we have to make sure all affected and rural communities are aware of what's going on," he said.

Mr Hynes said the major concern for this fire season was the lack of water but FESA has guaranteed there would be extra supplies this year.

"We are concerned about this season because this year has been one of the driest years on record," he said.

"We already have fires that are getting out of control and this season is already ahead of itself."