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Last modified: 17 Nov 2020 8:49am

The Council, Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ), Police, and other organisations are teaming up again to help people keep themselves and their properties safe from fire.

They are running a community meeting in Darfield to talk about tips for keeping your property safe. The meeting will be held at the Darfield Recreation Centre at 7pm Thursday 26 November.

It will also cover the McHughs Forest Park fire plan the agencies have put together to protect people in case of a fire in the forest.

McHughs Forest Park has been identified by FENZ as a potential fire hazard due to its close proximity to residential properties and businesses in Darfield and the abundance of fuels.

This risk is greatly increased during periods of high wind, particularly a strong nor’west wind.

The meeting will cover evacuation zones and how to prepare for a fire at the forest park. It will also cover advice for how to prepare properties for the peak fire season and what to do in the event of a fire. For more information on this you can visit selwyn.govt.nz/mchughs.

Council Emergency Management Manager Al Lawn says the meeting follows on from three successful community events run by FENZ and supported by Council and Police last year.

“We had a great response last year from people who found it really helpful. These are important messages to remind people of some simple things that they can do to be prepared and help keep themselves, their families, pets and others safe in the event of a fire.”