Fire management

Damage by fire is a serious risk across rural landscapes, and at HVP we play our part in protecting lives, assets and livelihoods.

All land managed by HVP is in the “Country Area of Victoria” (CFA Act 1958) and as such the control of the prevention and suppression of fires is vested in the Country Fire Authority. HVP has a number of our own Forest Industry Brigades (FIBs) within the overall structure of the CFA. The legislation governing FIBs is detailed in Section 23AA of the CFA Act 1958, and Country Fire Authority (FIB’s) Regulations 1998.

HVP’s fire protection activities are categorised as either fire prevention or fire suppression.

• Fire prevention includes all activities undertaken prior to the ignition of a fire and aimed at minimising the incidence and spread of fire. The fire incidence is described in terms of the number of fires and the asset damage, area burnt and fire intensity.
• Fire suppression includes all activities that are concerned with controlling going fires.

HVP plans and undertakes a range of prevention works and actions to protect company assets from fire and to provide safety and access for fire fighters. The choice of prevention measures is based on the cost effectiveness of each measure at reducing the number of fires, the area burnt, the damage to assets and fire suppression cost.

Fire management objectives

Fire prevention objectives are to:

• Minimise the number of wildfires which originate on or enter company land, and
• Minimise the area burnt, the damage to assets and reduce fire suppression costs.

Fire suppression objectives – Upon detection of a fire the action will be safe, fast, determined and thorough with primary objectives to:

• Control the fire in the shortest possible time, and
• Minimise the area burnt and damage to assets

In achieving these suppression objectives we need to take into account:

• The safety of personnel and the protection of the environment.
• Fire suppression strategies and tactics appropriate to plantations that consider the commercial value of the plantations threatened and the suitability of each stand for
  salvage of forest produce thereby minimising the loss to the company and the dependent industries.

Suppression of wildfires on or threatening HVP land is given priority over all other company activities. We have an extensive firefighting fleet including over 20 fire trucks, 68 small four-wheel drive slip-on units and, a first attack helicopters on standby in Gippsland, North East Victoria, and the South West.

What is a Forest Industry Brigade?

Victorian Government legislation requires forest plantation companies to form fire brigades.
The industry-based brigades are set up by plantation companies, are structured as normal CFA brigades, and come under the operational control of the CFA. FIB members are trained fire-fighters and meet the accreditation requirements of the CFA.

What is special about plantations?

Plantations have different fuel structures and fire behaviour characteristics compared with traditional rural environments featuring farmland, grass and scrub. Visibility and access into plantations is less obvious than in grasslands and fire behaviour considerations are different to other environments.
HVP employees regularly deal with fire as part of their job. Fire prevention and suppression is a critical part of the company’s culture. HVP brigades work alongside local CFA volunteers and crews from Forest Fire Management Victoria (FFMVic.)