1.4 Takes on Car Fire-12.2 Gets Down to Work in Esperance

The 1.4 was used to put out a car fire in Blackbutt Close, Wednesday. A quick thinking dozer driver dumped a bucket of sand on the car and temporarily put out the initial fire. However once the 1.4 arrived along with Adam, David, Douglas, Emma, Kevin and Noel, and the car was dug out, it was clear it was still burning. It took all the truck’s thousand litres and foam to eventually put it out.

Meanwhile the brigade’s 12.2 tanker has arrived in the Esperance region with Alan and Stevo and was already at work Thursday morning just South of Salmon Gums .

12.2 Drafting Near Esperance
12.2 Drafting Near Esperance

Grass Fire Brings Out the 4.4 and LT; 12.2 to Esperance

bayfieldA grass fire ignited Monday afternoon during the slashing of a paddock in Bayfield Court. The 4.4 with Alan, Andy, Mark P and Matty and the Light Tanker with Duncan and Emma quickly made the area safe and subsequently blacked out the remnants. Nature assisted with the absence of a sea breeze.

Early Wednesday the 12.2 with Alan and Stevo headed off to Esperance while Leisha joined a Dunsborough crew heading east. Annie also set off  with Mark P to Esperance in her community liaison role.

 

Another Escaped Burn Stopped Just in Time

Dunsborough LT Crew Blacking OutDunsborough Light Tanker provided assistance Saturday, stopping a burn-off escaping into bush full of grass trees. The fire was on Vintners Drive. It developed  mid-afternoon when the wind picked up and flames spread from a burning pile into a paddock and adjacent grass trees. Vintners Drive is on the border of the Dunsborough district and their Light Tanker crew quickly got the fire under control.

The brigade’s 4.4 soon arrived with Andy, Bruce, Matty and Mike joining David, Chris and Tony S and  the Dunsborough 3.4 in blacking out.

After Friday’s almost steady rain the brigade had been hoping for a day off Saturday.  Sunday is the last day of burning without a permit and residents are urged to be cautious.

Private Burn-Offs Causing More Brigade Callouts

The brigade was called out twice in less than an hour Thursday due to private burn-offs gone wrong.

The first was on Yungarra Drive with the brigade being called out to help the Dunsborough brigade. It was just up the road from last week’s fire. Dunsborough quickly took control and our trucks were subsequently not needed and the crews were stood down.

Less than an hour later the brigade was called out to put out a fire off Indjidup Spring Road that had reignited from a weekend burn. The 1.4 with Fish and Matty put out the fire that had been smouldering for days in the sand and then flared up. The Brigade Captain pointed out that it is the responsibility of anyone doing a burn to make sure the fire is definitely out before leaving. With only a few more days left in the burn-off season it is crucial that anyone lighting a fire recognises the risks involved and takes adequate precautions.

Another Week and Another Fire

yungarraThe brigade helped it’s neighbor, Dunsborough, put out an escaped burn Thursday afternoon on Yungarra Drive. David, Pete and Tony S turned up as the Dunsborough trucks arrived, with both Pete and Tony being nearby when the alert went out.  Within minutes Emma and Stevo arrived on the Light Tanker and then Bruce, Douglas, Matty, and Mitch arrived on the 4.4 joined by Mark. P. The fire was quickly extinguished and blacked out.

Monitoring the Firebreak-Blue Orchid Court
Monitoring the Firebreak-Blue Orchid Court

On Tuesday night all trucks were out for a burn on Blue Orchid Court. It started at 4pm and wound up around 8:45.

First Fire of the Season

Grasstrees

All the brigade trucks were out Monday afternoon assisting our neighbours, Wilyabrup, with a fire on Moses Rock Road. The quick turnout prevented the out-of-control burn from spreading into denser bush as the breeze picked up.

mopping up
Mark and Pete Blacking Out

The 4.4 was first out of the gate with Andy, Bruce and Matty, shortly followed by the 1.4 with Douglas, Mark P, Pete and Tony S. They were later joined by Adam and Emma on the Light Tanker and Alan and Annie on the 12.2. Fish managed the fire and David helped with the plumbing.

The alarm went out a little after 1:30 and all the trucks were back by 16:30. It was the first fire of the season, one day later than last year’s first.

Other recent events have included a false alarm last Sunday, assisting Yallingup Coastal and DPAW with a burn in the National Park, attending the Fire Expo at Dunsborough Saturday and helping with a number of private burns.