Flying high for skills boost
TASMANIAN firefighters are busy elevating their skills to protect the state from bushfire risks as warmer weather draws near.
Twenty-five Parks and Wildlife Service firefighters are taking part in helicopter winch training — a very important skill to have, according to project manager Robert Buck.
After three days of practical training this week, the team will undertake more sessions simulating real conditions they could face in the field.
“It’s all about building our skills (and) getting familiar with the aircraft because that’s the aircraft we’re going to have for the entire fire season,” he said.
Mr Buck said winch teams from Victoria and New South Wales had assisted the state in previous fire seasons, however fires were usually well under way before help could be requested.
“This (training) is something we haven’t done before in Tasmania but we’re looking forward to it,” he said.
“Tasmania has a really good fire response across the three firefighting agencies, but this will be a tool that’ll get us there quicker.”
After the formal training this week, further training sessions will simulate the conditions crew will be faced with when fighting fires.
Acting state fire operations manager Richard Dakin said although the training involved being winched out of helicopters, it wasn’t as hard as it looked.
“Reports from all the firefighters is that it’s quite easy,” he said. “The trainers are excellent at what they do, they’ve got great experience.”
He said Parks and Wildlife managed about half of the state’s bushfire response and most remote areas, with about 115 remote area firefighters on their team.
Environment and Parks Minister Roger Jaensch said the winch project demonstrated the government’s commitment to adopt recommendations from the 2016 and 2019 Australian Fire and
Emergency Services Authority Council reviews. “This program means a pool of winchcapable remote firefighters will be located across all PWS regions, increasing our capacity to fight remote fires when required,” he said.