Justin Cook supervised the four-person canvas hose lay training. Picture: Melanie Riley
New recruits have joined OneFortyOne’s Summer Fire Crew and have undertaken their practical skills training this week. Source: Timberbiz
Over the past three days, the 10 new recruits were trained in practical skills that covered four-person canvas hose lay, operation of fire tankers, managing grass fires, and using radios effectively. Source: The Border Watch
The crew included employees of OneFortyOne, and those contracted through Gildera Forestry Services and A&M Contracting.
More than 100 people make up OneFortyOne’s fire organisation including firefighters, supervisors and a logistical support team.
The new recruits were supported by OneFortyOne fire crew members Phil van der Hoek, Dane Handreck and Chloe Mackenzie.
OneFortyOne fire manager Justin Cook said the OneFortyOne crew attends a range of fires and support other brigades.
“OneFortyOne attends more grass fires than we do plantation fires, we will attend fires that are close to our plantation and assist the CFS to put out the fire in a paddock, before it reaches the plantation,” he said.
“So that’s important to the training.”
Mr Cook said fire risk is calculated daily, and crews respond accordingly.
“Every day during the fire season OneFortyOne declares fire reaction, based on the fire risk for the day.
“And depending on the fire reaction, we can have four, seven or eight fire tankers on standby.”
Fires can be reported by OneFortyOne’s fire tower networks, a notification from the CFS or a phone call from a member of the public.
The regional duty officer is then responsible for dispatching resources to a fire.
“We don’t go to every fire in the landscape, but we do to those that are within our plantation, other forest growers land, or that buffer around our and other forest growers’ plantations,” Mr Cook said.
There are six fire depots located through the OneFortyOne estate: Mount Gambier, Mount Burr, Penola, Glencoe, Noolook, and Comaum.
OneFortyOne’s plantation also extends throughout western Victoria from Edenhope to Dartmoor.
“We spread out resources across the area so that the travel time to any fire occurring on our estate is minimised,” Mr Cook said.
“Getting to a fire and putting it out whilst it’s small is always the best option.”
