Photo: Fire incident in Tittybong last week.
CFA is warning South West farmers to take care with their harvesting, especially following significant rain last spring which can led to prolific grown and delayed both the fire and harvesting season.
Already this year, CFA has responded to a spate of fires caused by or in harvesters across the South West region of Victoria.
In CFA’s District 5 there have been three fires caused by, or involving, harvesters in the last week, including the total loss of a harvester and ten hectares of wheat crop at Hexham on Tuesday afternoon.
Volunteers in other CFA Districts across the west have also responded to over a dozen fires during this time.
CFA District 5 Commander David Ferguson warned farmers and the community that harvest time can be very dangerous and they need to take extra precautions.
“The vegetation is drying out quite quickly now, and unfortunately we are seeing increasing numbers of machinery and vehicles start fires in our part of the state,” he said.
“CFA volunteer firefighters respond to more than 200 harvesting-related fires a year on average.”
“Not only do these fires put pressure on our volunteers, many of whom are farmers themselves, but it also puts farmers’ profits and safety at risk.”
Commander Ferguson said even small fires can quickly spread to the whole paddock within minutes, so it is vital to be prepared and exercise caution when preparing to harvest.
“Awareness is the key to avoiding harvester fires,” he said.
Farmers are working in challenging conditions as they harvest their crops, and the machinery is working particularly hard this year with the heavy crops.
It’s important that machinery and equipment are regularly maintained and cleaned, as well as inspected thoroughly before and during use.”
“Hot and dry conditions are a particular concern for CFA; if it’s a high fire risk day, our advice is to postpone any work that was planned to be conducted in the paddock.”
CFA reminded farmers to ensure machinery such as headers are routinely maintained, moving parts and bearings are regularly inspected and cleaned of any material on hot engine components.
“It should be part of everyone’s routine to check for straw or grass build-up in machinery, to maintain its spark arrestors, and to take regular breaks when operating machinery to ensure it doesn’t get too hot,” Commander Ferguson said.
CFA reminded farmers to have adequate firefighting resources available in paddocks where harvesting operations are conducted and advised against driving vehicles and motorbikes through dry grass as exhaust systems can ignite dry grass underneath on hot days.
“Farm machinery should also carry fire suppression equipment such as a knapsack spray pump or water fire extinguisher.”
