Council's Role in an Emergency

Each council must have a Municipal Emergency Management Planning Committee and an Emergency Management Plan that clearly outlines how we will prevent, respond to and recover from emergencies within the shire.  The plan is developed in consultation with emergency services and covers all possibilities, from a small single incident to a major bushfire. You can download a copy of the plan from this page.

Our Emergency Management Team work with all areas of council and emergency services to carefully plan and prepare the best response to help residents in the event of an emergency.  They also work on minimising the risk of an event occurring through annual prevention works, inspections and community education.

What We Do To Prevent/Prepare For An Emergency

•  Prepare the Municipal Emergency Management Plan, Fire Management Plan and Annual Bushfire Readiness Program
• Inspect private property for fire prevention
• Extensive roadside slashing
• Fire preparation in council reserves
• Community education
• Assistance in fire preparedness for vulnerable residents (Community Development Officer)
• Install and maintaining new emergency vehicle access tracks and water tanks for CFA
• Work with CFA to identify Neighbourhood Safer Places
• Ongoing response training

What We Do In An Emergency

Depending on the nature of the emergency we will:

• Open and operate Emergency Relief Centres - If there is a major emergency in Yarra Ranges or surrounding areas we may open a relief centre in a council building or public hall. There will be a range of services to help people effected by the emergency. This may include assistance with food and clothing, accommodation, support services and access to grants and financial aid.
• Activate the Municipal Emergency Control Centre (MECC) - The MECC provides logistical support to all agencies responding to the emergency.  Depending on the emergency, the MECC may operate 24 hours  day and a representative from each agency involved will be in attendance (eg Police, CFA, DSE, Parks Victoria, Dept. of Human Services, Yarra Ranges staff, Red Cross etc)
• Provide assistance during response and recovery (eg road clearing, animal services, tree clearing etc)
• Ongoing recovery activities in conjunction with government agencies

For more information on Emergency and Safety Planning please contact us on 1300 368 333 or email us.