CFA awaits council tick

By Melissa Meehan
FOUR areas in Cardinia have been mooted as potential neighbourhood safer places six weeks into the fire season.
But while considered compliant with stringent criteria, the areas cannot be approved until Cardinia Shire Council ticks off the sites under state legislation.
The first phase of the township protection plans for the state’s 52 at-risk communities was released by the CFA last week but Gembrook, Cockatoo and Upper Beaconsfield had no neighbourhood safer places (NSP).
On Monday the CFA released the four areas that met its criteria.
The list will now go to Cardinia Shire Council for further assessment. Cardinia spokesman Paul Dunlop said strict criteria for potential safer places were reasons for why none had yet been officially chosen.
“Cardinia Shire Council has been working with the CFA to identify potential places of last resort for various towns since October (when the neighbourhood safer places criteria was released),” he said. “We understand that communities are anxious to receive clear information about NSP locations, and to learn where no places of last resort have been identified and why.
“We are working tirelessly to try to finalise these locations within the month.”
Cardinia’s municipal emergency resource officer Paul Dickson said the council was working with the CFA to identify a number of potential safe places, but it would take up to three more weeks to work through all the criteria.
“We need to maintain the line that these safe places are the last resort,” he said. “Safety can’t be guaranteed and people need to look at these areas as the place to go when all else has failed.”
He said the council was also looking at other townships in the municipality that were not mentioned on the list of 52 most at risk towns.
“We are looking at Maryknoll and Pakenham Upper as well as the three towns on the list,” he said.
“But the safest place for people to be is some place else.”
CFA Westernport area general manager Peter Schmidt said neighbourhood safer places should only be accessed when personal bushfire survival plans cannot be implemented or have failed, and the only certain way to survive a bushfire is to be well away from the threat.
“All residents need to attend a FireReady Victoria session in their area and formulate their own bushfire protection plans,” he said.
Upper Beaconsfield resident Ali Hudson said she was pleased that safe places in the town had been identified.
“They are good areas for people who can get to them,” she said.
“But I think congestion could be a real issue when a fire hits town.”