Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Chief Fire Officer Mark Spain is urging Territorians to enjoy Cracker Night but be prepared with first aid kits and buckets of water on hand if fires break out

Transcript

Chief Fire Officer Mark Spain is urging Territorians to enjoy Cracker Night but be prepared with first aid kits and buckets of water on hand if fires break out · 360 with Katie Woolf

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  Speaker 1: We know that Territory Day is fast approaching, and it's
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  Speaker 1: always reminded to make sure that you're prepared and ready
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  Speaker 1: to do the right thing. In previous years, well, certainly
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  Speaker 1: in some years we have seen that there's been quite
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  Speaker 1: tough conditions for Territory Day for our fires. But joining
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  Speaker 1: me in the studio right now is our chief fire officer,
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  Speaker 1: Mark Spain. Good morning to.
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  Speaker 2: You, Good morning, Katie, good morning listeners.
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  Speaker 1: Now Spainy, territory Day, it's fast approaching. Before I get
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  Speaker 1: to that, we also know that the top end fire
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  Speaker 1: danger period, well, it kicks off. It kicked off yesterday,
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  Speaker 1: didn't I.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, that's correct, it kicked off, and it's from the
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  Speaker 2: seventeenth parallel. To put that in some context, that's about
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  Speaker 2: fifty kilometers north of Elliott at a straight line across there.
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  Speaker 1: Yep.
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  Speaker 2: So anyone who wants to light a fire or whatever
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  Speaker 2: will need a permit. Is particularly under the bushfire and
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  Speaker 2: tea area. We're fairly restrictive on giving out permits, although
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  Speaker 2: there are some strategic burns that are occurring at the
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  Speaker 2: moment with the private contractors.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah. Right, So the reality is at this point in
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  Speaker 1: time and life, you've got a permit, you're not able
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  Speaker 1: to actually burn.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, no burns without permit, And that's the normal case anyway,
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  Speaker 2: you always apply for a permit.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, do we know because for a while there, I
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  Speaker 1: guess last week in the week before, there was heaps
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  Speaker 1: of smoke around. Was there a lot of people sort
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  Speaker 1: of doing their burns that they did have permits for?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, there's well, no permits been going out. You came back.
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  Speaker 2: I got from the bushfires Intia that a lot of
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  Speaker 2: illegal burns that are occurring, and we'll investigate all those
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  Speaker 2: sort of fires at this point of time to try
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  Speaker 2: and get some bearing on it. But a lot of
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  Speaker 2: that smoke that was coming in is from illegal burds,
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  Speaker 2: not actually control burns. The people who do the control
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  Speaker 2: burns the sort of models of the weather, weather conditions
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  Speaker 2: and whatever. So we don't want the thick clouds hanging around.
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  Speaker 1: Day on yeah, now Spainy Territory Day this weekend. Some
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  Speaker 1: years it seems to go really quite calmly o the years,
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  Speaker 1: depending on what the conditions are like weather wise, it
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  Speaker 1: can be you know, I don't know if frightening is
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  Speaker 1: the right word, but it can be concerning how are
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  Speaker 1: things looking for this.
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  Speaker 2: Week this weekend from the Bureau, it looks pretty good
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  Speaker 2: right across the northern territory. Higher humidity than normal in
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  Speaker 2: the dry season. We're looking for a bit of a reprieve.
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  Speaker 2: There could be some rain in the central Desert area.
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  Speaker 2: We're looking for a little bit of humidity in the
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  Speaker 2: Ell Springs Central Desert, and then in dar we're looking
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  Speaker 2: for a favor of humidity as well. So it's working
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  Speaker 2: in our favor for celebration night. Yeah, that is.
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  Speaker 1: Good to hear, and although it's unseasonably very humid for us,
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  Speaker 1: it is good for those conditions. Tell me, how do
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  Speaker 1: the fieries prepare for territory day.
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  Speaker 2: Look, we're well into our fire season, as we know,
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  Speaker 2: we've already responded to a number of wild fires across
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  Speaker 2: in our merge response areas on a bush fires and
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  Speaker 2: TA being very busy as they as they announced the
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  Speaker 2: top end five daga period commencing yesterday that will go
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  Speaker 2: through to October thirty one. So we're sort of about
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  Speaker 2: doing our business as we do. Come on Sunday night,
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  Speaker 2: we want everyone to have a great time, that's what
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  Speaker 2: it's all about. How we do ask that given that
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  Speaker 2: we only have finite resources. We won't be able to
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  Speaker 2: get a fire truck or fire cruise to every fire incident, however,
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  Speaker 2: so we'd like the lighters of those fireworks to just
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  Speaker 2: be well prepared, follow the manufacturer's recommendations, have a good
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  Speaker 2: clear area, have a first aid kit in case something
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  Speaker 2: goes wrong for that, and probably some extinguishing ages like
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  Speaker 2: a bucket of water or whatever. We'd also ask that
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  Speaker 2: once your fireworks have been set off, is not to
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  Speaker 2: place them directly into the bins. Let them cool down first,
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  Speaker 2: because we respond to a number of bin fires because
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  Speaker 2: the product is still hot. They're doing the right thing
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  Speaker 2: by putting them to the bins. Yeah, but at the
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  Speaker 2: day they catch on fire and then we end up
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  Speaker 2: going to bin fires.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah right, So is that happened something that happens pretty
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  Speaker 1: well every.
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  Speaker 2: Year every year? Yeah, it happens two or three four
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  Speaker 2: bin fires constantly a curve come up on the radar.
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  Speaker 2: So if you can just either let them cool down
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  Speaker 2: or put the place them near the bin for the
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  Speaker 2: cleaners to pick up the next day, but just wait
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  Speaker 2: till they.
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  Speaker 1: Call and Spainy, do you guys do you roster on
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  Speaker 1: additional people for Territory.
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  Speaker 2: Day normally we do. We have our normal cruise on
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  Speaker 2: to do the bau and then we'll put on extended
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  Speaker 2: crews to have a search capacity to go across. I
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  Speaker 2: think we had about four hundred and sixty odd calls
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  Speaker 2: last year's across the territory, so we'll have extra cruise on.
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  Speaker 2: But also we all always fall back to our wonderful
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  Speaker 2: volunteers in the local areas and in our remote areas.
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  Speaker 2: They will they tend to the station and they will
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  Speaker 2: respond to the incidents as well. So we had eighty
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  Speaker 2: five volunteers assists last year, So it's a great call
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  Speaker 2: out to those They love it. They're mad as hatters,
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  Speaker 2: but they love it get out there. They'll spend long
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  Speaker 2: hours out there. Being a weekend to expect a lot
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  Speaker 2: more activity.
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  Speaker 1: Well yeah, and it's one of those things, isn't it.
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  Speaker 1: Like I know, it can be a tough juggle then
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  Speaker 1: for the fieries in terms of making sure that you've
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  Speaker 1: got the resources and got the people to go out
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  Speaker 1: should a fire sort of happen. But it is like
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  Speaker 1: lots of territories just loved to Territory Day.
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  Speaker 2: And we also have a large influx of our interstate
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  Speaker 2: tourists who obviously don't have the enjoyment of letting off
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  Speaker 2: fireworks in the state, so they come up here by
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  Speaker 2: the thousand, which is good for the territory economy and
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  Speaker 2: hopefully they'll enjoy it as well.
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  Speaker 1: Hey, just back on the fact that we know the
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  Speaker 1: fire danger period has officially been declared, is there anything
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  Speaker 1: more that landowners should sort of be aware of. I
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  Speaker 1: know that there is also a heightened risk at different
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  Speaker 1: times at the moment, as you've said, those humidity levels
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  Speaker 1: are quite high, but is there anything else that landowners
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  Speaker 1: need to be aware of?
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  Speaker 2: That humidity won't last forever. So what we're asking landowners
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  Speaker 2: to be considered of other land owners that attach to
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  Speaker 2: their property, We're looking for a minimum four meter fire
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  Speaker 2: breaks around their property. That won't stop the fire, but
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  Speaker 2: it allows our fire crews to be able to gain
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  Speaker 2: access to the property up and down the highway, helping
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  Speaker 2: down their block safely. And also if they haven't got
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  Speaker 2: their properties prepared, they could be infringed in excess of
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  Speaker 2: six hundred dollars.
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  Speaker 1: Do people generally do the right.
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  Speaker 2: We'd like to say yes, but there are some circumstances
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  Speaker 2: where it's really difficult for them to do that, but
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  Speaker 2: we work for those property owners to try and come
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  Speaker 2: to a resolve. But once again we do ask property
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  Speaker 2: owners to be respectful other property owners who have done
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  Speaker 2: the right thing. But on that day, just make sure
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  Speaker 2: you have short grass, plenty of water around on your
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  Speaker 2: properties and call Triple zero in the event of a
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  Speaker 2: fire starting.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, well, Chief Fire Officer, Mark Spain. Anything else we
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  Speaker 1: should be aware of this morning before I let you go.
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  Speaker 2: Just one big thing. There's only a window of opportunity
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  Speaker 2: to let off your fireworks and that's from six o'clock
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  Speaker 2: on July one till at eleven o'clock. But anyone in
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  Speaker 2: possession there's a three day amnesty. Anyone in possession from
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  Speaker 2: fireworks after midday on Monday, the second of July, that
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  Speaker 2: will impose a sixteen hundred and twenty dollars fine if
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  Speaker 2: you have caught with possessions of.
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  Speaker 1: Fireworks, so use them or take them in to get
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  Speaker 1: rid of them, or you're going to wind up in
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  Speaker 1: some serious trouble.
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  Speaker 2: Sixteen hundred and twenty dollars. You can buy a lot
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  Speaker 2: of fireworks, but enjoy the.
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  Speaker 1: Night spot on Mark Spain. Always good to catch up.
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  Speaker 1: Thanks so much for your time this morning.
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  Speaker 2: Thanks very much, Kati,