3 August 2009
A major inter-agency fire fighting exercise, one of the largest in south-east Queensland, took place in the Beerburrum State Plantation Forest on Wednesday 29 July.
Hosted by Forestry Plantations Queensland (FPQ), the exercise brought together more than 100 fire fighters from FPQ, the Department of Environmental and Resource Management, the Queensland Fire Service and the Moreton Bay and Sunshine Coast regional councils.
As part of the exercise, fire attack helicopters and crews undertook water bombing, incendiary and aerial surveillance training.
Exercise coordinator, FPQ Fire Protection and Training Officer Tony Johnston, said fire was the one thing that kept forestry workers on contestant vigil.
“FPQ’s forest plantations are worth a billion dollars and a fire that rages out of control can quickly turn these assets to ashes as well as place the community at risk,” Mr Johnston said.
He said stray matches, sparks from worn trailer axles, power lines blown together by winds, careless campers and arsonists had all caused fire losses to forests in the past.
“Our Beerburrum plantation forests are valued at more than $100 million and our largest plantation fire, in 1994, destroyed more than $35 million worth of them,” he said.
Mr Johnston said that every state agency involved in wildfire suppression needed staff that were well trained and practised in a range of wildfire suppression techniques.
“This exercise provided an opportunity for that to occur as well as improving communication and understanding between agencies and ensuring all fire fighters were familiar with the Australasian Inter-Agency Incident Management System,” he said.
This system, known commonly by its acronym, AIIMS, has been formally adopted by all Australian fire and land management agencies and the Australian Council of State Emergency Services.
Mr Johnston said the fire season officially began in September each year.
“If the worst should happen and we are faced with a wildfire, we will have the confidence of knowing the agencies responsible for wildlife suppression are skilled and practised, and know the local region well,” Mr Johnson said.
Mr Johnston said FPQ relied on a system of fire fighter training, firebreaks, hazard reduction burning, surveillance and rapid fire suppression to manage the threat of wildfires.
“FPQ’s fire policies, combined with proper environmental management, ensure that losses through fire are kept to a minimum,” Mr Johnston said.
