Firey Tales

Captain’s Message

What a difference a few months make, where we have gone from a very dry spring and strong concerns for the summer fire season to rain and more rain with lots of green grass everywhere. Thankfully, so far this has resulted in a very quiet fire season for our members and they have been able to enjoy the Christmas period.

Overall, for the last year, the brigade has responded to 64 call-outs for a wide range of situations including fires, car accidents, trees down, oil spills and smoke sightings. Members have put in over 4,650 hours of volunteer time responding to calls, training, maintenance, etc.

Remember not all smoke is bad, and only call 000 if you see an unattended fire. You can regularly expect to see people burning off as the brigade has written approximately 250 fire permits so far this fire season as residents continue to keep their properties bush fire ready and burn off excess material.

We are back into training on Wednesday nights, refreshing our skills, continuing the training of our newly qualified fire fighters and assisting several new trainees to work through their basic training to become qualified to respond to call-outs.

Any questions on permits, or if you are interested in what we do and perhaps want to join up, give me a call or drop into the station on Broughton Street on Wednesday nights from 6pm.

Captain Dusty 

0412 865 638

Incidents for the December 2023 and January 2024

There were six Incidents for the previous two months. Thanks to all responding crews from the local and adjacent brigades.

• A late-night Incident call to clear a small tree down across Moss Vale Road. The tree was removed by local crews.
• A firecall for smoke in the vicinity of Upper Kangaroo River Road. After an extensive search, no smoke was found and crews returned to the station.
• An Incident call to resolve an oil spillage on the Nowra side of Cambewarra Mountain.
• A firecall to a grass fire to the west of the village close to the golf course. A permit holder was conducting a burn with an appropriate permit and notifications in place. As the burn was under suitable control, no action was required, the burn left under the control of the permit owner and crews returned to the station,
• An Incident call to resolve a significant oil spill. The spillage stretched along Moss Vale Road from west of Hampden Bridge, resulting in the Cambewarra Mountain Road being closed to the east of the village. After responding crews exhausted their supply of absorbent, further clean-up was handed over to responding crews from the Council and RMS.
• A firecall for smoke in the vicinity to the east of village. A permit holder was conducting a controlled burn with an appropriate permit and notifications in place. As the burn was under suitable control no action was required, the burn left under the control of the permit owner and crews returned to the station.

Community engagement

Unfortunately, the brigade’s Christmas Eve BBQ at the local pub was cancelled due to inclement weather. However, Santa still managed to make his planned appearance at the brigade’s Christmas party. Thank you, Santa!

Pile Burns and Burning Off

As the Bush Fire Danger Period (BFDP) is in operation, the following tasks are mandatory prior to lighting up:

1. Obtain a Fire Permit from a local Fire Permit Officer via:
   1. Phone: Shoalhaven FCC 4424 4424 between 8am and 4pm Monday to Friday
   2. Email: Shoalhaven FCC Shoal.Haven@rfs.nsw.gov.au or the brigade kangaroovalleyrfb@gmail.com.
2. You must notify the NSW RFS (not the local brigade) at least 24 hours before you light the fire and provide the issued fire permit number. Notification methods include:
   1. Online: www.rfs.nsw.gov.au/notify or via the QR code 
   2. Phone: Shoalhaven FCC 02 4424 4424 between 8am and 4pm Monday to Friday
   3. Email: Shoalhaven FCC Shoal.Haven@rfs.nsw.gov.au.
3. You must advise your immediate neighbours at least 24 hours before you light the fire. Immediate neighbours include those where you are separated by a road or water course. 
4. You must adhere to all the conditions listed on the fire permit, including at least one responsible person must be present on site until the pile is extinguished.
5. Check for any messages from Shoalhaven Fire Control Centre and the NSW RFS Fire Danger Ratings webpages, as fire permits may be suspended if weather conditions dictate.
6. Check the upcoming weather conditions as the pile may continue to smoulder for days.
7. If you believe that you cannot safely control the fire once it has been lit, dial 000 immediately.

Consider notifying your local WhatsApp Neighbourhood Group, and ask the coordinator to share any plans with other group coordinators if expected weather conditions mean smoke is likely to travel some distance. Smoke does not respect property boundaries. 

Where the brigade is assisting local community members with burns, the responsibility for notifications remains with the property owner, but the brigade will attempt to post Facebook updates about planned brigade activities if there is a significant volume of smoke expected. Changing weather conditions may mean brigade updates are provided with short notice.

If you have concerns about burning off yourself, please contact the local brigade or Shoalhaven Fire Control and we can possibly assist you with your pile burn or check your site for you. 

Compiled by Gary Matthews