Pakenham Upper CFA

25/05/2026

When using your fireplace in winter, it’s important to be fire safe 🔥
✅Always use a fire screen in front of an open fire.
✅Keep items that can burn, such as clothes horses, at least 1m away.
✅Extinguish open fires before leaving home or going to sleep.
✅Always supervise children near open fires.
✅Ensure ashes are cold before discarding.
✅Only burn dry, clean wood.
Find out more www.cfa.vic.gov.au/homefire

27/04/2026

Just to let you know of two upcoming Bushfire Prepare workshops coming up in May:

16 May event at Bunyip
27 May (midweek) event at Dewhurst (Upper Beaconsfield):

Registration will need to be made on the Bushfire Prepare site at https://bushfireprepare.online/events .

27/04/2026

If you are planning a burn off, the Fire Permits Victoria website is a quick and easy way to notify emergency services. 🔥🍃
Registering your burn online means Triple Zero Victoria call takers and fire services can respond to emergencies, not false alarms.
Find out more at firepermits.vic.gov.au

05/04/2026

The Fire Danger Period for Cardinia Shire will end at 1am on TUESDAY morning, (not the Monday as would normally happen).

Please do not light your burnoffs tomorrow - this will just mean we get paged to come and put the fire out, which is annoying for everyone.

After Tuesday, when you do start burning, please make sure you register your fire and take all the necessary precautions. For further information, please refer to the linked page on the CFA website.

https://www.cfa.vic.gov.au/plan-prepare/how-to-prepare-your-property/burning-off

21/01/2026

From the 18-20th of January our Ultra-Light Tanker joined a strike team tackling the Walwa bushfires east of Wodonga. To contain one part of the fire, we were tasked with back burning a large area, taking away any fuel to stop it's progress.

10/01/2026

While tomorrow has a much welcome Moderate Fire Danger Rating, please be aware that a statewide Total Fire Ban has again been declared.

The CFA is stretched quite thin at the moment and we need to reduce the number of additional calls we are getting.

10/01/2026

Please be aware with the many fires within Victoria the wind will carry the smell and smoke haze down towards us. Please only call 000 if you are sure there is a fire - brigades are being called out for false alarms and they are stretched as it is. So please be sure not just guess there is a fire if you can smell smoke.

Send a message to learn more

08/01/2026

IMPORTANT FIRE SAFETY UPDATE — FRIDAY 9 JANUARY

Tomorrow (Friday, 9th Jan) is shaping up to be one of the most dangerous fire weather days since 2019.

Tomorrow has been declared a Statewide day of Total Fire Ban.

Current district Fire Danger Rating for Central is EXTREME with much of the rest of the state with a CATASTROPHIC rating.

An EXTREME or CATASTROPHIC rating means any fire that starts can move very quickly, be extremely difficult to stop, and highly dangerous. There are already multiple very serious fires in the state that fire services are working around the clock to try and suppress.

Forecast:
- Extreme heat with local temperatures above 40°C
- Strong NW winds: 30–50 km/h with gusts up to 90km/h
- Late South Westerly cool change with a high potential for dry lightning and/or storms and rapid fire behaviour changes
- Strong potential for falling trees and branches throughout the day

What we need you to do — now.

Take this seriously!
- Activate your Bushfire Survival Plan today.
- Leave early if you’re in high-risk areas or feel unsafe. Early departure is the safest option. If you leave, do not return until well after the cool change has passed and only if safe.

If a fire starts in Pakenham Upper or nearby it will be too dangerous to leave at that time, bearing in mind that there are only a few roads in or out of the area.

YOU MUST MAKE A DECISION TO LEAVE BEFORE ANY FIRE IMPACTS OUR AREA

• Stay informed (use at least two sources):
- VicEmergency app & website: https://www.vicemergency.vic.gov.au
- ABC Radio 774 AM
- Local emergency & community pages
- Do not rely solely on this page tomorrow, we are expecting to be undertaking firefighting and rescue activities throughout the day.

Prepare before tomorrow a go-bag (ID, medications, change of clothes, water, charger, mask, goggles, laptop/iPad, basic first aid).

It is really important that every Pakenham Upper resident takes the conditions tomorrow extremely seriously. Be prepared for the worst but hope for the best.

Prepare yourselves now and enact your bushfire plans. If you choose to leave, you must leave either tonight or very early tomorrow morning.

06/01/2026

Tomorrow has been declared a day of Total Fire Ban for the Central region, including Pakenham Upper. Aside from obviously not lighting any fires, please also avoid any hot kind of work that can lead to sparks or fires being ignited (such as mowing, using a chainsaw or driving machinery over grass).

To find out more about what you can and can't do, please visit the following page: https://www.cfa.vic.gov.au/warnings-restrictions/fire-bans-ratings-and-restrictions/about-total-fire-bans

A Total Fire Ban has been declared for the Central (includes Melbourne and Geelong), Wimmera and South West Fire Districts - Wednesday 7 January 2026.

No fires can be lit, or be allowed to remain alight, in the open air from 12:01 AM until 11:59 PM. Stay informed: www.cfa.vic.gov.au/firebans

05/01/2026

HAYSTACK safety is top of mind for CFA volunteers this summer. As just one damp bale can ignite a haystack.

Spontaneous ignition is the leading cause of haystack fires in Victoria. Green or damp hay can result in complex biological and chemical processes which may cause the hay to heat up.

When the internal temperature of hay reaches 55degC, a chemical reaction begins to produce flammable gas that can lead to ignition.

CFA say, it is important to ensure hay is well cured before baling and keep haystacks to a limited size and separate your haystacks.

They advise to monitor moisture and temperature of your hay regularly and check for unusual odours such as pipe to***co, caramel, burning or musty smells.

The most common cause of harvester fires is material collecting on hot engine components such as the manifold, exhaust, and turbocharger.

Make it part of your routine to check for straw or grass build-up, and hot bearings.

Make sure your machinery is free of faults and mechanical defects and carry a fire extinguisher.

Postpone paddock work during the highest fire-risk periods. On hot, dry days, exercise extreme caution before harvesting, grinding, welding, slashing or mowing.

The key to avoiding harvester fires is diligence in maintenance such as clean- down and inspection.

During paddock operations, have the appropriate firefighting equipment in the paddock.

You're required by law to have a nine-litre water pressured extinguisher on hand.

Avoid driving vehicles and motorbikes through dry grass or crops - the risk from the hot exhaust system is high.

For people with pets and horses make sure you have a plan to move them if needed.

Late evacuation with horses will put you and them at risk. An area that is well-grazed where they can move freely, with a supply of water is safest.

Always be careful about everyone’s safety.

For more information, check out this page: https://www.cfa.vic.gov.au/plan-prepare/how-to-prepare-your-property/farms/hay-fire-safety