2022
Incorporating
Wednesday, February 7, 2024
Phone: (03) 5775 2115
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www.mansfieldcourier.com.au
FIRST DAY PREPS (from left) Ashton Antoniadis, Evie Stevenson, Bonnie Shevilin and Billy Universita were excited to start their first day of school at Mansfield Primary School last week. FULL STORY page 14, with further schools’ coverage on page 15.
Page 3
LIBS TREATY BACKFLIP
Fire ready reminder as February heats up
Pages 4-5
DUCK HUNTING
Residents urged g to maintain p properties p with risks still apparent pp ALTHOUGH the recent wet and green summer has significantly reduced bushfire and grassfire risk locally, rural residents are being encouraged to maintain their property and homes to best prepare for fire as February heats up. Barjarg CFA’s members have recently completed training on the CFA’s Property Advice Visits Service (PAVS), which is a 30 minute faceto-face service that delivers fire safety information relevant to the resident’s risk. The brigade attends a property
in their tanker, giving residents the opportunity to check that there is sufficient gate and driveway clearance along with turnaround space for a fire truck. Before Christmas the brigade completed visits to CFA member’s homes to fine-tune the process and are now ready to deliver to the wider Barjarg community. Last Thursday, Barjarg Captain Andrew Cook and firefighter Wayne Hewitt took the opportunity to visit Deputy Mayor Mark Holcombe to undertake the PAVS at his property.
A PAVS checklist acts as a starting point for discussions on what steps can be taken to better prepare a property and home, and the brigade will also review what water is accessible for firefighting and what a resident’s plan is in case of fire or extreme summer weather. Although Cr Holcombe’s property is excellently maintained, the PAVS checklist brought to light some actions he could take to improve his home’s chances of survival in a bushfire, and he found the visit to be most informative.
“The free fire property assessment undertaken by Barjarg CFA was not only an opportunity to meet the new leadership team at Barjarg CFA but it also provided a ‘reality’ check for what my wife and I need to do if we are to be truly fire prepared and in a position to stay and defend,” said Cr Holcombe. “I recommend that residents, particularly newcomers to the district, give their local CFA a call and participate in this 45 minute assessment. ■ Continued page 2
JAKARA BREAKS RECORD
End Of Season Factory Clearance TAKE AN A ADDITIONAL
$1000 ADVERTISED RTISED OFF A
FLOORSTOCK ONLY NO RAINCHECKS FLOOR
MANSFIELD POWER AG 197 - 203 Mt Buller Road, Mansfield, Vic, 3722 Ph: (03) 57 752 711
info@mansfieldpowerag.com.au
PRICES
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