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Speaker 1: We know that Territory Day is fast approaching, and it's

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Speaker 1: always reminded to make sure that you're prepared and ready

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Speaker 1: to do the right thing. In previous years, well, certainly

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Speaker 1: in some years we have seen that there's been quite

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Speaker 1: tough conditions for Territory Day for our fires. But joining

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Speaker 1: me in the studio right now is our chief fire officer,

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Speaker 1: Mark Spain. Good morning to.

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Speaker 2: You, Good morning, Katie, good morning listeners.

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Speaker 1: Now Spainy, territory Day, it's fast approaching. Before I get

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Speaker 1: to that, we also know that the top end fire

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Speaker 1: danger period, well, it kicks off. It kicked off yesterday,

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Speaker 1: didn't I.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, that's correct, it kicked off, and it's from the

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Speaker 2: seventeenth parallel. To put that in some context, that's about

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Speaker 2: fifty kilometers north of Elliott at a straight line across there.

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Speaker 1: Yep.

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Speaker 2: So anyone who wants to light a fire or whatever

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Speaker 2: will need a permit. Is particularly under the bushfire and

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Speaker 2: tea area. We're fairly restrictive on giving out permits, although

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Speaker 2: there are some strategic burns that are occurring at the

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Speaker 2: moment with the private contractors.

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Speaker 1: Yeah. Right, So the reality is at this point in

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Speaker 1: time and life, you've got a permit, you're not able

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Speaker 1: to actually burn.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, no burns without permit, And that's the normal case anyway,

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Speaker 2: you always apply for a permit.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, do we know because for a while there, I

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Speaker 1: guess last week in the week before, there was heaps

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Speaker 1: of smoke around. Was there a lot of people sort

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Speaker 1: of doing their burns that they did have permits for?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, there's well, no permits been going out. You came back.

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Speaker 2: I got from the bushfires Intia that a lot of

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Speaker 2: illegal burns that are occurring, and we'll investigate all those

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Speaker 2: sort of fires at this point of time to try

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Speaker 2: and get some bearing on it. But a lot of

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Speaker 2: that smoke that was coming in is from illegal burds,

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Speaker 2: not actually control burns. The people who do the control

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Speaker 2: burns the sort of models of the weather, weather conditions

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Speaker 2: and whatever. So we don't want the thick clouds hanging around.

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Speaker 1: Day on yeah, now Spainy Territory Day this weekend. Some

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Speaker 1: years it seems to go really quite calmly o the years,

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Speaker 1: depending on what the conditions are like weather wise, it

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Speaker 1: can be you know, I don't know if frightening is

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Speaker 1: the right word, but it can be concerning how are

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Speaker 1: things looking for this.

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Speaker 2: Week this weekend from the Bureau, it looks pretty good

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Speaker 2: right across the northern territory. Higher humidity than normal in

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Speaker 2: the dry season. We're looking for a bit of a reprieve.

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Speaker 2: There could be some rain in the central Desert area.

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Speaker 2: We're looking for a little bit of humidity in the

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Speaker 2: Ell Springs Central Desert, and then in dar we're looking

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Speaker 2: for a favor of humidity as well. So it's working

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Speaker 2: in our favor for celebration night. Yeah, that is.

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Speaker 1: Good to hear, and although it's unseasonably very humid for us,

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Speaker 1: it is good for those conditions. Tell me, how do

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Speaker 1: the fieries prepare for territory day.

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Speaker 2: Look, we're well into our fire season, as we know,

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Speaker 2: we've already responded to a number of wild fires across

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Speaker 2: in our merge response areas on a bush fires and

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Speaker 2: TA being very busy as they as they announced the

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Speaker 2: top end five daga period commencing yesterday that will go

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Speaker 2: through to October thirty one. So we're sort of about

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Speaker 2: doing our business as we do. Come on Sunday night,

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Speaker 2: we want everyone to have a great time, that's what

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Speaker 2: it's all about. How we do ask that given that

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Speaker 2: we only have finite resources. We won't be able to

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Speaker 2: get a fire truck or fire cruise to every fire incident, however,

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Speaker 2: so we'd like the lighters of those fireworks to just

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Speaker 2: be well prepared, follow the manufacturer's recommendations, have a good

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Speaker 2: clear area, have a first aid kit in case something

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Speaker 2: goes wrong for that, and probably some extinguishing ages like

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Speaker 2: a bucket of water or whatever. We'd also ask that

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Speaker 2: once your fireworks have been set off, is not to

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Speaker 2: place them directly into the bins. Let them cool down first,

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Speaker 2: because we respond to a number of bin fires because

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Speaker 2: the product is still hot. They're doing the right thing

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Speaker 2: by putting them to the bins. Yeah, but at the

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Speaker 2: day they catch on fire and then we end up

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Speaker 2: going to bin fires.

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Speaker 1: Yeah right, So is that happened something that happens pretty

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Speaker 1: well every.

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Speaker 2: Year every year? Yeah, it happens two or three four

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Speaker 2: bin fires constantly a curve come up on the radar.

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Speaker 2: So if you can just either let them cool down

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Speaker 2: or put the place them near the bin for the

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Speaker 2: cleaners to pick up the next day, but just wait

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Speaker 2: till they.

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Speaker 1: Call and Spainy, do you guys do you roster on

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Speaker 1: additional people for Territory.

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Speaker 2: Day normally we do. We have our normal cruise on

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Speaker 2: to do the bau and then we'll put on extended

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Speaker 2: crews to have a search capacity to go across. I

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Speaker 2: think we had about four hundred and sixty odd calls

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Speaker 2: last year's across the territory, so we'll have extra cruise on.

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Speaker 2: But also we all always fall back to our wonderful

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Speaker 2: volunteers in the local areas and in our remote areas.

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Speaker 2: They will they tend to the station and they will

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Speaker 2: respond to the incidents as well. So we had eighty

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Speaker 2: five volunteers assists last year, So it's a great call

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Speaker 2: out to those They love it. They're mad as hatters,

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Speaker 2: but they love it get out there. They'll spend long

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Speaker 2: hours out there. Being a weekend to expect a lot

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Speaker 2: more activity.

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Speaker 1: Well yeah, and it's one of those things, isn't it.

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Speaker 1: Like I know, it can be a tough juggle then

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Speaker 1: for the fieries in terms of making sure that you've

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Speaker 1: got the resources and got the people to go out

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Speaker 1: should a fire sort of happen. But it is like

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Speaker 1: lots of territories just loved to Territory Day.

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Speaker 2: And we also have a large influx of our interstate

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Speaker 2: tourists who obviously don't have the enjoyment of letting off

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Speaker 2: fireworks in the state, so they come up here by

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Speaker 2: the thousand, which is good for the territory economy and

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Speaker 2: hopefully they'll enjoy it as well.

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Speaker 1: Hey, just back on the fact that we know the

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Speaker 1: fire danger period has officially been declared, is there anything

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Speaker 1: more that landowners should sort of be aware of. I

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Speaker 1: know that there is also a heightened risk at different

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Speaker 1: times at the moment, as you've said, those humidity levels

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Speaker 1: are quite high, but is there anything else that landowners

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Speaker 1: need to be aware of?

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Speaker 2: That humidity won't last forever. So what we're asking landowners

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Speaker 2: to be considered of other land owners that attach to

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Speaker 2: their property, We're looking for a minimum four meter fire

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Speaker 2: breaks around their property. That won't stop the fire, but

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Speaker 2: it allows our fire crews to be able to gain

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Speaker 2: access to the property up and down the highway, helping

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Speaker 2: down their block safely. And also if they haven't got

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Speaker 2: their properties prepared, they could be infringed in excess of

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Speaker 2: six hundred dollars.

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Speaker 1: Do people generally do the right.

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Speaker 2: We'd like to say yes, but there are some circumstances

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Speaker 2: where it's really difficult for them to do that, but

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Speaker 2: we work for those property owners to try and come

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Speaker 2: to a resolve. But once again we do ask property

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Speaker 2: owners to be respectful other property owners who have done

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Speaker 2: the right thing. But on that day, just make sure

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Speaker 2: you have short grass, plenty of water around on your

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Speaker 2: properties and call Triple zero in the event of a

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Speaker 2: fire starting.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, well, Chief Fire Officer, Mark Spain. Anything else we

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Speaker 1: should be aware of this morning before I let you go.

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Speaker 2: Just one big thing. There's only a window of opportunity

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Speaker 2: to let off your fireworks and that's from six o'clock

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Speaker 2: on July one till at eleven o'clock. But anyone in

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Speaker 2: possession there's a three day amnesty. Anyone in possession from

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Speaker 2: fireworks after midday on Monday, the second of July, that

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Speaker 2: will impose a sixteen hundred and twenty dollars fine if

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Speaker 2: you have caught with possessions of.

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Speaker 1: Fireworks, so use them or take them in to get

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Speaker 1: rid of them, or you're going to wind up in

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Speaker 1: some serious trouble.

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Speaker 2: Sixteen hundred and twenty dollars. You can buy a lot

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Speaker 2: of fireworks, but enjoy the.

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Speaker 1: Night spot on Mark Spain. Always good to catch up.

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Speaker 1: Thanks so much for your time this morning.

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Speaker 2: Thanks very much, Kati,