A contingent of emergency management personnel from the United States arrived to assist in managing Victoria’s ongoing and significant fire threat last Thursday.
Thirty-nine firefighters and two liaison officers from across the US, including from Phoenix, Georgia and Idaho, have joined Victorian crews in East Gippsland.
The firefighting experts will assist in regaining road access across East Gippsland, and were deployed with local crews on fire tankers on Saturday, following briefing and training sessions at the Victorian Emergency Management Institute in Mount Macedon last Friday.
These American firefighters will be deployed on a 28-day rotation.
“Our strong and ongoing relationships with North American firefighting agencies means we are able to share personnel, skills, knowledge, equipment and technology in times of emergency,” Victorian State Response Controller, Stephanie Rotarangi, said.
“We are extremely grateful for the expertise and support provided, and thank our North American colleagues for responding so quickly to the call for assistance, and to their families and employers for supporting this deployment.”
This contingent of 41 is the first of two groups from North America to arrive in Victoria, with 71 firefighters (61 from the US and 10 from Canada) set to arrive this week.
IMAGE: The group of firefighters who have travelled from the United States to help with the bushfire effort in East Gippsland. (PS)
