Penrith Bush Fire Management Committee Bush Fire Risk ...

PENRITH BUSH FIRE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE DRAFT BUSH FIRE RISK MANAGEMENT PLAN
1.3 Aim and Objectives of the Plan
1.3.1 Aim
The aim of the Penrith bush fire risk management plan is to provide for the co-ordinated
prevention and mitigation of bush fires for:
(a) the protection of life, property and the environment within the community; and
(b) the protection, maintenance and wherever possible the enhancement of the natural
and cultural values of the area through the management of appropriate fire regimes.
To give effect to this aim, the committee has developed appropriate risk management
objectives and strategies.
1.3.2 Objectives
The objectives of the Penrith Bush Fire Risk Management Plan are to:
• reduce the risk of bush fire damage to life, property and the environment;
• ensure that the community is well informed on bush fire protection measures and
prepared for bush fire events;
• ensure that public and private land owners and occupiers understand their bush fire
management responsibilities;
• minimise the risk to the safety of firefighters and the public by reducing the potential for
severe bush fires;
• encourage community participation in managing the bush fire risk;
• reduce the impact of bush fire smoke on the community;
• effectively manage bush fires for the protection and conservation of the natural, cultural,
scenic and recreational features of the area;
• reduce the effects of bush fire to water quality within the Nepean Hawkesbury Catchment
1.3.3 Bush Fire Risk Management Strategies
This plan contains a number of strategies that are directed at addressing the risk to
community and environmental assets. This is generally achieved through addressing those
factors which comprise the risk being the bush fire hazard (principally the fuel), the sources
and pattern of ignitions and the vulnerability of the assets at risk.
1.4 Implementation
Implementation of the BFRMP is the responsibility of the owners or occupiers (land
managers) of the land on which the bush fire risk is situated. The Rural Fires Act imposes
this responsibility on both public and private land managers.
Land management agencies such as the Penrith City Council, Roads and Traffic Authority
(RTA), National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), Air Services Australia (ASA), ComLand
Limited, Defence Establishment Orchard Hills (DEOH), Penrith Lakes Development
Corporation (PLDC), Waste Services NSW, and Corrective Services, will need to develop
specific programs for implementing the BFRMP strategies applicable to their land. In the
case of private property, it is the responsibility of Penrith City Council to develop a program
for communicating the BFRMP strategies to private land managers and ensuring that the
strategies are implemented by the land managers.
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