West Dubbo Rail Track fire
Published Date: 13 Nov 2013
Summary
Daily Liberal By KIM BARTLEY
A 25km/h wind was pushing flames away from homes near Macquarie Anglican Grammar School on Monday afternoon, but propelling them towards residences on the Minore and Rosedale roads.
About 45 firefighters and 13 fire trucks converged on the scene after smoke prompted calls from people living near the school.
In about 90 minutes the fire that burnt across 12 hectares of railway corridor and private land was under control with fences its only casualty.
Cattle had retreated out of harm's way before being transferred to safe paddocks.
The speedy containment of the runaway blaze was despite early difficulties in finding entry points to it.
Inspector Jeremy Fewtrell, of Fire and Rescue NSW, yesterday told of it working with the Orana team of the NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) in the assault on the fire.
Once the alarm was raised he had conferred with "my colleague in the RFS" and together they decided to "put a lot of resources into it straightaway and hit it as hard as we could".
"It was a big effort, especially for those first three or four trucks that were on the scene, which was a combination of Fire and Rescue NSW and the Rural Fire Service," Inspector Fewtrell said.
"They worked really hard."
The inspector spoke to the Daily Liberal yesterday morning while investigating the fire's cause.
"Probably suspicious" was the firefighter's view.
"Certainly there are indicators that suggest there is no reason for the fire to have started," Inspector Fewtrell said.
"We can rule out natural and accidental causes."
The inspector asked anyone with information about Monday afternoon's fire to contact police.
"Just over the last few weeks we have had a few fires that we believe might have been deliberately lit," he said.
"Fire and Rescue NSW take this seriously and we work very closely with the Rural Fire Service and also the police to deal with these matters.
"They're all being investigated and followed up."
Inspector Fewtrell asked the community to call police if they witnessed suspicious activity and triple zero "straightaway" in the event of fire.
He said Monday's blaze demonstrated "how quickly a fire can spread" in current dry and windy conditions.
