THE Country Fire Authority was able to mobilise quickly and work together to battle a New Year's eve bushfire in Mt Clear, operations officer Neville Collins said following a debrief last night.The debrief involved 50 people from different organisations that were involved in tackling the fire. Mr Collins said fire preparedness had been low on the night because of weather conditions. On days of high fire danger, the CFA has a strike team on standby."But that's not to say we can activate any quicker," he said. As the fire was on New Year's Eve, a lot of people had also gone away for the holiday."It was one of those difficult times," Mr Collins said. "(But) there were houses under threat and the CFA did a tremendous job to protect those assets.'The fire started in scrub off Tinworth Ave and 27 crews from Ballarat and across the region attended the 32 hectare blaze.Aerial support was also used to fight the fire. The debrief was an opportunity to raise issues and discuss ways to improve. Mr Collins said matters that came under discussion included internal fire ground communications and appropriate clothing. "The firefighting activities were extraordinary, they saved a lot of houses along with the aerial support that was used as well," he said.Mr Collins said debriefs were held after every major fire and there was always ways to improve. "Its a sad day when you don't learn something from a fire fight," he said. Representatives from organisation including Victoria Police, State Emergency Services, Department of Sustainability, City of Ballarat and Central Highlands Water attended the debrief.A 12-year-old boy has been charged with arson and causing a bushfire following the blaze. He will appear in a children's court on February 15.