\u201cThere\u2019s absolutely no way [we would] attend a fire on a property crossed by the VNI west high voltage transmission line.\u201d<\/p>\n
The comments were also picked up and repeated in state parliament by Victorian Liberal MP Bev McArthur:<\/p>\n
\u201cThese brigade volunteers come from communities which will bear the brunt of the government\u2019s rushed, incompetent efforts to implement its 95 per cent renewables target by 2035 and of its inexplicable attachment to [VNI West],\u201d McArthur said here on July 01<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWill the Minister for Emergency Services simply acknowledge, as the brigades demand, that high-voltage lines are potentially lethal in wildfire scenarios, that they jeopardise firefighter and community safety and that powering down 500 kilovolt transmission lines during wildfire events is not a realistic protection mechanism?\u201d <\/p>\n Barratt has, in the past, also extended the claim to \u201cany renewable infrastructure or projects\u201d \u2013 as he told the ABC last month. <\/p>\n \u201cAny renewable infrastructure or projects, we\u2019re just going to refuse to fight fires in and around them,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n As the ABC reports, Firefighters Against Renewables Over Victoria is calling for an immediate halt to \u201call current and proposed projects\u201d and \u201cappropriate reconsideration of alternative solutions,\u201d which Barratt says should include nuclear power.<\/p>\n Barratt and his co-signatories from five different brigades across the region said VNI West would \u201cgreatly impact\u201d the ability of emergency responders to control fires from the ground and the air.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re worried about our ability to fight fires around transmission lines and the [Country Fire Authority] hasn\u2019t been very good at all at giving us clear instructions on how safe it is to fight fires around them,\u201d he told the ABC in June.<\/p>\n But Australian Firefighters Climate Alliance says this is not true, and that the Country Fire Authority (CFA) is actually very clear on the subject.<\/p>\n \u201cNo one is suggesting that fire fighters work next to a fire front passing under a high voltage power line,\u201d AFCA spokesperson Cam Walker said on Monday.<\/p>\n \u201cIn fact,\u00a0CFA protocols dictate that crews should not work close to a fire passing under these lines. To suggest otherwise is disingenuous and potentially constitutes misinformation.<\/p>\n \u201cSome anti renewables campaigners who are also firefighters have made similar claims around wind turbines. But again, standard practise is to stand back a safe distance from an elevated fire and to contain any spread of flames from falling debris.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is disappointing to see these sort of wild claims,\u201d said Walker. \u201cAs with any tall structure, there are protocols regarding how firefighting occurs around high voltage power lines, and refusing to attend a fire near these lines would potentially put the community at risk.\u201d<\/p>\n Confusion and obfuscation over this issue has also been addressed by RE-Alliance, which has published a detailed explainer on the risk of fire around transmission lines, here<\/a>. <\/p>\n The explainer also shares links to other resources, including AusNet\u2019s\u00a0\u2018Managing fire risk \u2013 electricity transmission network\u2019<\/a>; CFA\u2019s\u00a0\u2018Fighting fires around transmission lines\u2019<\/a>; Energy Networks Australia\u2019s\u00a0\u2018Bushfire factsheet\u2019<\/a>, and; Powerlink\u2019s\u00a0\u2018Fires and transmission line safety\u2019<\/a>.<\/p>\n As RE-Alliance explains, the risk of transmission lines starting a fire is extremely low, with only two instances where transmission lines have been verified as causing a fire in recent decades.<\/p>\n And it quotes former Fire and Rescue NSW Commissioner and veteran firefighter Greg Mullins\u00a0as saying<\/a>\u00a0that taking extra precautions around higher-risk infrastructure during fires is part and parcel of the job \u2013 and transmission lines are \u201cnothing new.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAny new structure brings a fire risk that must be considered in the approvals process,\u201d says Walker. \u201cBut compared with many activities in agricultural areas, there is no additional or novel risk attached to a fire around a power line.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe first high voltage overhead lines in Victoria were built in the 1950s. We have decades of experience working around this type of infrastructure and to suggest that\u00a0VNI west lines would constitute a new risk is just fear mongering.\u201d<\/p>\n If you would like to join more than 29,000 others and get the latest clean energy news delivered straight to your inbox, for free, please\u00a0click here to subscribe to our free daily newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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