District 22 operations manager Tony Owen said although the period was coming to an end in some areas, it was important to remain vigilant.
Mr Owen said fire restrictions had been extended and the zero-tolerance policy continued to be enforced for people responsible for illegal fires.
He reminded residents burning off was prohibited without a written permit while the fire danger period was in place.
‘‘Once we move out of the fire danger period, residents who wish to burn off on private properties need to follow some basic rules — register your burn-off first and foremost, check weather conditions and monitor the wind and follow local council laws and regulations,’’ Mr Owen said.
He also highlighted the need for landowners to communicate with authorities and neighbours.
‘‘As well as registering your burn-off with ESTA (Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority), you need to alert your neighbours to the fact that they may see smoke on the set dates,’’ he said.
‘‘It’s extremely annoying when CFA crews are forced to waste resources responding to false alarms because people are not registering their burn-offs.
‘‘By registering your burn off, if someone reports that they’ve spotted smoke, the incident will be cross checked with the burn-off register and prevent an angry CFA crew showing up on your door.
‘‘False alarms take crews away from family, friends, work and other potential emergencies.’’
Whether registering a burn-off by phone or email, people should be prepared to give some basic information, including location, date, expected start and finish times, estimated size and what they intend to burn.
‘‘The burn-off line is very easy to use — the operators will prompt you by asking the key questions,’’ Mr Owen said.
‘‘When conducting a burn-off, remain alert and always have resources on hand to extinguish the fire.’’
●Landowners can register their burn-off with ESTA by calling 1800 668 511 or emailing burnoffs@esta.vic.gov.au
For more information about burning off, go to cfa.vic.gov.au/burnoff
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