INCIDENT response data from the CFA shows fire crews responded to 88 per cent of calls within the standard response time between January and March this year.
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Three month period, which included some of the worst bushfires in Victoria's history, saw the CFA respond to 12,666 incidents - 911 less call outs that the same period in 2019.
More than half of the incidents required an emergency response from CFA crews.
CFA acting chief officer Garry Cook said it was an this extremely busy and challenging period as crews protected their own communities while assisting with bushfires in East Gippsland and the North East Victoria.
"Not only did they help fight some of the most devastating bushfires that Victoria has seen for a long time, but our firefighters also upheld an amazing service to their own communities and I could not be more proud," he said.
Data highlighted that, overall, fire services were within the standard response time in 88 per cent of emergencies, which was broadly consistent with previous quarters.
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Statistics for the three-month period showed 400 homes had been lost to the bushfires.
"Despite these significant losses, I'm proud of our firefighters who saved many houses by bunkering down with communities as the fire front came through. Many of them were cut off from the rest of Victoria when roads closed following the fires," Acting Chief Officer Cook said.
Acting Chief Officer Cook said statistics showed three people died in fires during the quarter - one in the Victorian bushfires and two in house fires.
"It goes to show that while a lot of focus was on bushfire safety during summer, residential fires were also devastating to our community," Acting Chief Officer Cook said.
"We're now in winter, where the risk of house fires is statistically higher, and I urge all community members to help us save lives by installing smoke alarms in all bedrooms and living areas and checking them regularly to make sure that they are working," he said.
CFA response time results:
- Across all CFA brigades, the Community Service Delivery Standard compliance rate was 88 per cent.
- In significant urban areas, CFA and other fire services responded to 89 per cent of fires within the standard response time of 8 minutes
- All other urban areas saw CFA and other fire services respond to 89 per cent of fires within the standard response time of 10 minutes
- In areas with predominantly natural suroundings, CFA and other fire services responded to 99 per cent of fires within the standard response time of 20 minutes.