Firefighters urge people to take care as wild weather continues

With severe weather set to continue across Victoria over the coming days, Fire Rescue Victoria is asking people to be cautious, especially around floodwaters.

Published:
Thursday, 10 June 2021 at 8:09 am

FRV firefighters responded to more than 350 incidents across Victoria between 3pm on Wednesday and 7am on Thursday that were related to the weather conditions.

Most of these involved powerlines sparking or power poles catching fire, trees across powerlines, and damage to homes and buildings.

The areas with the most number of calls were Melbourne’s outer eastern suburbs, and southern and bayside suburbs.

Approximately 20 firefighters, including search and rescue specialists, responded to an incident in Croydon around 2:00am on Thursday after a tree fell on a house and trapped  two people inside.

Crews arrived on scene to find two people trapped in a bedroom by the tree, and worked for half an hour to remove them from the house.

Firefighters, including swift water rescue specialists, also worked to rescue two people from a car that became trapped in rising floodwaters in Wonga Park on Wednesday night.

Crews arrived on scene in four minutes and worked to remove them from the car about 40 minutes after they first arrived on scene.

One person was transferred into the care of Ambulance Victoria paramedics.

Assistant Chief Fire Officer Graham Lay said it was a timely reminder to take care, particularly on the roads. 

“While a flooded road may look safe, floodwaters can move quickly and conceal hidden dangers below the surface,” he said.

“Never drive through floodwater - it can take just 15cm of flowing water to float a car, which is the height of an average pen,” he said. Road users should also watch for falling trees.

“This long weekend metropolitan areas cannot travel to regional Victoria for recreation. Those travelling appropriately should set up a watch zone and ensure your notifications for flood and weather are turned on within the VicEmergency app.”

“Anyone without power should make sure candles and cooking is done so as safely as possible.”

Updated