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A POLICE officer carrying buckets of water helped an elderly man control a runaway burn-off on Thursday before firefighters arrived.
Just before 2pm, a man burning a pile of rubbish on his property near Linton called triple zero after the gusty conditions caused the fire to get away from him.
On scene quickly, Leading Senior Constable Tony Walker began running buckets of water towards the growing fire front before fire crews were able to assist.
Secretary of the Linton Fire Brigade Jeff Martin said the fire was brought under control quickly.
“We had six firefighters from Linton and another three from the Skipton Fire Brigade and we arrived pretty quickly,” he said. “Tony Walker from Linton Police was actually first on scene and he did some very good work early helping get it under control.”
Mr Martin said the fire was close to a bush area and the direction of the wind was pushing it towards a heavily-forested section of the reserve.
“There was a bit of potential there, but a bigger fire was avoided.”
Leading Senior Constable Walker said the fire served as a warning for property owners as the weather begins to warm up.
“Even with small burns, it’s important to remember if the grass is green on top it can be dry underneath,” he said.
“Make sure you have water on hand and fire breaks established.”
“We managed to stop it before it got too far.”
The CFA have warned residents to begin preparing their properties for the coming fire season by removing leaf-litter from gutters, clearing long grass and making sure each member of the household knows their fire plan.
For information on fire safety, visit www.cfa.vic.gov.au.
jordan oliver@thecourier.com.au