A demanding season – our thanks to every member

Our fire season kicked off in October at Mount Richmond, followed by December fires in Raywood, Markwood and Goomalibee.  

More fires began on 7 January and by 9 January, with Catastrophic conditions in four weather districts, we were in full swing with fires right across the North East, North West, West and South West.  

Between 7 January and 15 February more than 436,000 hectares of land burned across Victoria and more than 1,590 structures were damaged or destroyed.  

At the centre of it all was CFA volunteers protecting their communities. Many members responded multiple times while balancing employment, farming operations, family and community commitments, all during the longest duration heatwave event Victoria has experienced since 2009. 

• A total of 28 Total Fire Bans to date 

• More than 7,146 individual incidents were responded to by CFA  

• More than 780 CFA brigades responded 

• Over 206,000 volunteer hours reported 

• 2,500 appliances used 

There has been a lot of praise and thanks from the Victorian community, which we hope you have all felt. CFA has been front and centre for many months and you should all be proud of the role you play and the work we do.  

We have received over 3,700 expressions of interest from Victorians wanting to become a volunteer since the 7 January, which is a wonderful compliment to the role you all play.  

We want to mark the summer that was and thank all of you for all that you do.  

There is a lot of work ahead of us in particular going through the after-action reviews and turning them into actionable items and a way forward. We are always open to how we improve the way work and encourage you to continue providing feedback.  

To mark the enormity of the fires we have put together the video to showcase our members and all the work they did. 

Thank you for all your work. 

Acting CEO Jason Heffernan and Acting Chief Officer Alen Slijepcevic AFSM