24 Nov 2017 Wangaratta Chronicle, Wangaratta VIC (General News) by Samantha Dick STAFF and volunteer fire brigades in the North East will be able to better serve their community thanks to a funding boost by the State Government. Jaclyn Symes (MLC, Northern Victoria) said she was pleased that nearly one third of the 300 successful grants had been approved to Northern Victoria CFA, SES and other emergency service organisations. I and the local communities know that our dedicated hard working volunteers do an amazing job keeping our local community safe and they deserve nothing but the best equipment, Ms Symes said. Across Victoria, $9.55 million was granted to volunteer CFA brigades and $2.05 million for SES units. CFA District 23 operations manager Stewart Kreltszheim said Boweya, Eldorado, Killawarra, South Wangaratta and Wangaratta would enjoy long-term benefits from the funding. The funding provides a fantastic opportunity for brigades to get those additional bits of equipment and upgrades of facilities which are above and beyond what is normally provided by CFA, Mr Kreltszheim told the Wangaratta Chronicle yesterday. In particular, the Ultra Light Tanker at Killawarra is a real bonus as an additional piece of equipment. Due to the risk of the Killawarra area, with the Warby Range at their back and the Ovens River at their front, we were able to justify the application of a tanker. Mr Kreltszheim said the training dummies granted to Wangaratta CFA would help staff and volunteers develop their training in emergency medical response. However, while the funding represents a huge victory for many North East brigades, it will not be rolled out until 2019. The funding wont necessarily help this year, but it will provide long-term benefits to the brigades for years to come, Mr Kreltszheim said. This means we wont have the equipment to help us during this years Fire Danger Period, which officially began on Monday. It is vital that Wangaratta locals adhere to strict fire restrictions at this time of the year. During the Fire Danger Period, fires cannot be lit in the open air without a written permit from CFA or a municipal fire prevention officer. For information about Wangarattas burn-off restrictions, consult the Rural City of Wangaratta council on 5722 0888. For answers to Can I or Cant I? questions related to fire restrictions, visit cfa.vic.gov.au/can or by call the VicEmergency Hotline on 1800 226 226. All burn-offs should be registered with the VicFire Burn-off notification line on 1800 668 511. CFA BRIGADE ITEMS FUNDING Boweya Defibrillator $2362 Eldorado Refrigerator $1817 Killawarra Ultra Light Tanker $113,500 South Wang Concrete apron, drains, water pump $16,429 Wangaratta Training dummies $3033 Licensed by Copyright Agency. You may only copy or communicate this work with a licence.