KEMPSEY'S Fire and Rescue NSW brigade has been busy in the past week extinguishing a large number of fires fuelled by the dry conditions.
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Frosts in the past couple of weeks have contributed to the fires by killing off grass and scrub, adding to already high fuel loads in bushland around the Macleay shire.
Fire-fighting efforts are being further complicated by people ringing the local fire station to report fires, instead of the Triple Zero (000) emergency services number.
Kempsey brigade Captain Tony Hackenberg said if you believe a fire is worth reporting, you should ring Triple Zero.
“I don’t know why it has started to happen more often," Captain Hackenberg said.
"I think people might believe it is not important enough to ring Triple Zero so they call the station.
“The problem is that the phone diverts to my phone if the station is unattended and if I am on another job I might not get the call.
“And if I do get the call I have to ring our dispatch centre in Newcastle to get them to log the call.
"All call-outs have to be directed from there so they know where every unit is at any time.
“So you think you are saving time when in fact it adds a lot of complications to the call-out.”
Captain Hackenberg said the Kempsey brigade had been active in the past week.
“Starting with a large grass fire at Bunya Pines last Thursday, the unit also responded to fires at Bruces Lane on Friday, Burnt Bridge and Saleyards Rd over the weekend and several nuisance rubbish fires," he said.
“The Bunya Pines and Saleyards Rd fires in particular were tricky because of the swampy terrain.
“The fuel load is so thick that they just smoulder away no matter how much water you pour on.
“We usually extinguish the fire to full black-out stage, meaning there is no visible flame, but they can continue to burn unnoticed for days.”
If you wish to report a fire please call the emergency services number Triple Zero.