Bonnie Doon and Strathbogie evacuated as Longwood fire spreads; heatwave temperatures bring catastrophic fire warning to most of state; school and homes destroyed in Ruffy
People requesting an ambulance today may not have direct access to one as Ambulance Victoria has issued a code red due to bushfire conditions.
Ambulance Victoria CEO Jordan Emery told ABC Radio this morning that the “red voltage” declaration was the highest level of emergency response plans.
“We have proactively activated this today because we recognize the extremely devastating fire danger declarations in these four regions, as well as the extreme declarations in the rest of the state. A multi-day heatwave is likely to have a significant impact on our operations.”
Emery said that while some people may not be able to get paramedic care when they want it today, AV will do its best to respond to life-threatening situations.
“I want to reassure the people of Victoria that we will continue to respond to all emergencies. We will continue to mobilize resources and help people wherever we can, but we recognize that we may not be able to respond to emergencies in these situations, particularly in some of the areas at risk of these catastrophic fires where active and significant bushfires are currently burning,” he said.
“I want to be really clear with Victorians, we must protect the safety and lives of responding paramedics and if there are emergencies we may not be able to respond to bushfire areas.”
Emery explained that not all resources in areas considered catastrophic will be relocated, but “a very small number of our locations are within these catastrophic fire areas and are close to or have limited access to forested areas.”
“In places like Yea, we are taking proactive steps to redeploy those resources so they can continue to respond to emergencies safely,” he said.
“My advice is consistent with the advice of the Emergency Management commissioner and fire officials to leave these locations immediately and leave safely. If you have a medical emergency or have a medical issue you can still contact triple zero. We will still look after you. We can connect you to other health services. Or of course, there are other services you can connect to including a Victoria virtual emergency service or on-call nurse who can provide you with assistance.”
