Plan ahead and register burn-offs online

AS property owners prepare for the upcoming fire season, the CFA is urging landowners to register burn-offs online instead of by phone.

Currently, less than 50 percent of landowners register online.

Triple Zero Victoria chief operating officer Nicole Ashworth said registering burn-offs online is fast, easy and allowed call-takers to focus on higher priority calls.

“Spring is the ideal time to prepare your property ahead of the fire danger period, which makes it one of the busiest times for people registering their burn-offs by phone,” said Ms Ashworth.

“That’s why we always urge landowners to plan ahead and save themselves some time by jumping onto the Fire Permits Victoria website and registering well in advance, especially when suitable weather conditions are forecast.”

Registering at firepermits.vic.gov.au/notify is the quickest and easiest way to register a burn-off.

CFA Chief Officer Jason Heffernan said the Fire Permits Victoria website is the preferred platform for community members to register their burns.

“By registering your burn-off, it allows emergency services to verify the fire is not an emergency before unnecessarily calling out local brigades,” he said.

“It also allows us to display burn-offs on the CFA website so the public can see where a burn-off is taking place, preventing needless calls to Triple Zero (000).

“Over the past year, CFA responded to nearly 900 escaped burn-offs, which utilised around 19,000 hours of our volunteers’ time.

“Please don’t leave your burn-off unattended and only burn-off when conditions are favourable.”

When planning a burn-off, landowners should follow council and CFA regulations, check the weather forecast and notify neighbours off possible smoke.

For further information visit cfa.vic.gov.au/burnoff.