SUMMER is nearly here and Kingston Council preparing for action in case of emergency due to bushfires during the peak fire season.
Kingston mayor Cr David Eden said summer posed the greatest emergency risk due to heat waves, bushfires and storms.
“Council is working closely with other councils, the MFB, CFA local police and other emergency services to make sure we are ready to respond to any potential summer emergencies,” Cr Eden said.
“Throughout the year we put our emergency response teams through their paces with training drills and simulated emergencies to make sure we.re ready to act if an emergency occurs.”
Council responded to a number of emergencies in the past 12 months, including two major storm incidents which caused flash flooding across the municipality.
“Unfortunately we are facing incredibly dry weather conditions with a heightened risk of bushfires this summer,” Cr Eden said.
Council has an audited Emergency Management Policy and Action Plan to respond to key summer emergencies which can include heat waves, bushfires and increased community risk at large-scale summer events.
Kingston — together with Greater Dandenong, Frankston and Mornington Peninsula Shire councils — has also received Natural Disaster Resilience Funding to develop tools to help the community prepare for emergency events.
First published in the Chelsea Mordialloc Mentone News – 8 November 2017