Another 22 New Zealand firefighters will leave for Australia
today to help battle bush fires in remote areas of Victoria.
The team will join 44, the country's second-largest
deployment of rural firefighters, who left last week to
relieve Australian firefighters working in the Gippsland
area.
Victoria is experiencing a difficult fire season with two
major fires burning and a number of smaller fires in the west
of the State, said National Rural Fire Authority operations
manager Gary Lockyer.
"Like our deployment last week, today's team is drawn from
the forestry sector and from the Department of Conservation.
They are all well qualified and keen to help their Australian
colleagues," he said.
Each team will spend at least two weeks away.
New Zealand had the capacity to send more firefighters
without it impacting on the resources available to deal with
any rural fires in this country, Mr Lockyer said.
In January, 13 firefighters were sent to help fight bush
fires in remote areas of Tasmania.
"These deployments are a reflection of the strong
relationship New Zealand fire authorities have built with
their Australian counterparts over the years to share
training, knowledge, and research and provide assistance to
each other when needed."
A name, residential address, and (preferably residential) telephone number is required from readers who comment on ODT Online. These details will not be visible to site visitors.