BLAZE DRAMA
QUICK action enabled the Tasmania Fire Service to contain a bushfire which destroyed private property at Spring Beach, near Orford, yesterday.
Two sheds and a caravan were destroyed and another shed was damaged in the blaze.
The fire was reported to emergency services just after 3pm by a nearby resident, who saw smoke rising through the trees below his property at Hoods Rd at the popular East Coast holiday spot.
About 5.30pm, Triabunna Fire Service leading firefighter Simon Deegan said the fire had been contained to five hectares and the cause of the fire was being investigated.
“We had five brigades here mopping up, patrolling and blacking out any hot spots,” Mr Deegan said.
He said once they were completed, it would be handed back to the landowners and the fire service would patrol it at regular intervals today.
Two helicopters were deployed after the TFS issued a “watch and act” alert status.
The assistance of the two helicopters and the swift response from fire crews saw the blaze contained quickly.
Local resident Chris Clark reported the fire to emergency services. “I jumped in my ute, drove up Hoods Rd and, sure enough, there was a fair bit of smoke billowing up there,” Mr Clark said.
“I came back and phoned triple-0 and within a very short time, probably six or seven minutes, we had one fire truck afterf another handd emergency vehicles and police.”
Mr Clark said the prompt response by emergency services was reassuring for locals, “especially those of us a little too close for comfort.”
“It seemed that once they got the helicopters involved, things were controlled fairly quickly.”
Mr Deegan said the public needed to be careful when using fire outdoors. “We just ask that when they use fire outdoors that they do it responsibly and make sure that if they do leave it unattended, that it is extinguished, stirred and that it’s cold and they actually check that it is cold.”