A 34-degree day, tinder dry bush and a howling wind gusting to70kph saw a total fire ban in force recently and out-of-control bushfires ravaging the state of NSW.

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Tilligerry Rural Fire Service responded with call outs to major blazes as far afield as Wallaroo, the Richmond Vale Railway Museum near Kurri, Salt Ash and Medowie.

As many as three of the four Tilligerry tankers were deployed at any one time to fight the fires.

One special unit is always kept back on standby at the new million dollar station as a village protection unit.

Emerging out of a record dry winter with massive fuel loadings we now face the prospect of more out-of-control summer firestorms.

Looking at the big picture, veteran firefighter and life member of Tilligerry Brigade Richard Osborne OAM has an ominous warning for the fire seasons ahead,

“Bushfire control is all about fuel management,” he said.

“This last winter saw some of the best burnoff days imaginable but there were no burnoffs.”

“It doesn’t matter how many water bombers or fire trucks you deploy, you just can’t fight the big summer firestorms,” he added.

“The massive amount of red tape the fire captains have to wade through must be streamlined if we aren’t to have bigger and more destructive fires of the future.”

Residents can access the RFS website for details of how they can plan for fire emergencies and the ‘Fires Near Me’ site will give details of all the current bushfires in NSW.

By Geoff WALKER