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Hi I'm Craig Lapsley Fire Services Commissioner for Victoria and I'm very pleased to have
the first of our weekly updates that we'll film on Monday mornings and published close
after that to ensure that people have an understanding of what the fire conditions that will be experienced
across Victoria, but also the key messages that people should take away that are really
critical. We've also got the Auslan interpreter with us, that's a service that we work closely
with now to ensure we have a broader communications to Victorians, a very good service and something
we will work hard to get right and make sure we have that information to the broader Victorian
community.
This week is an interesting week. It's a summer period that is going to be mild across Victoria
for the week and we will see showers and rains in most districts of Victoria. That's welcome
I suppose in many senses in that we haven't moved into a really hot period yet but don't
be fooled will still have a very hot January and February is what the forecast indicates,
and when I say that it's about maximum temperatures predicted to be above their normal, that is
the maximum temperature of the day and also the minimum temperatures overnight will stay
high in some instances which means it's conducive to fires. That's the forward look, back to
what this week really means. I say, and I hope that you can take this away and take
it into action, fire prevention works are still important and when we say fire prevention
works it's the things you physically do. It's cleaning up around your property, it's actually
looking at where the stack of wood is, about the grass that's been growing and you probably
cut it already but it's that second cut of the grass. It's making sure you do everything
that you can before Christmas to ensure that you're well prepared. Remove the risk is what
real issue is. If you can't do that engage with someone. There's contractors out there,
friends, neighbours, talk to someone about assisting you if you can't do it but the fire
prevention works are really important.
Second key thing is about you and your family's preparedness. It's about what you need to
think about, develop your plan and have a discussion at home. Make sure you know where
to get the information from, absolutely make sure you know where to get that information
from when it is the critical time. When it's a hot day, a severe, extreme or code red day,
it's a day where there's potential of fire in your area. And if a fire occurs where to
get that information. Nothing worse than having a great plan but not knowing how to access
it or get the information you need which puts a lot of pressure on you.
So in summing up, a cooler week across Victoria, with some showers and rain but take the opportunity
to do the things that you can influence about your safety. Fire prevention and the things
you can do and fire preparedness the things you need to think about and put in place for
what will be a good plan that puts you in a good stead for your safety. Thank you and
like I said we'll continue this every week now, every Monday we'll produce a summary
of what the week in Victoria looks like in a fire sense and hopefully it's useful for
what you need to do. Thank you