Cobram Fire Brigade second lieutenant and training officer Matt Dehne said the brigade completed breathing apparatus training every six months.
“We do a lot of training so that we’re very highly skilled to respond to emergencies, and we try to keep it as real as possible,” Mr Dehne said.
Captain Adrian Hilder said the brigade had also completed annual training prior to the start of the fire season.
“Things change from season to season, so we do certain training annually to prepare us,” Mr Hilder said.
He said he was expecting this fire season to be busy as a result of grass fires.
“Because of spring rains it should be reasonably wet up until December and then there will be a fire hazard of long grasses as it doesn’t take long to dry out,” he said.
“It doesn’t have to be a hot day; with a bit of wind, grass fires will take off really quickly.”
Mr Hilder said now was the time for residents to prepare their properties by keeping grass watered and cut, cleaning gutters and removing hazards and vegetation.
“It doesn’t matter who you are, you can’t outrun a grass fire,” Mr Hilder said.
Mr Hilder reminded people to ensure emergency services had clear access to their properties.
“Recently we’ve had issues accessing people’s property with trees blocking the way and we need to get our trucks in — any delay means the fire will spread even more,” he said.
Locals must register burnoffs by visiting www.cfa.vic.gov.au
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