Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) is urging people to always call Triple Zero when reporting a fire or other emergency so firefighters can properly respond and potentially save lives.
The reminder follows a spate of calls made directly to Cessnock Fire Station recently to report fires.
Station Officer at Cessnock, Steve Ellis said the only number people should use to report fires and other emergencies was Triple Zero, or the response to the incident could be delayed creating greater risk to those affected.
“Calling your local fire station directly could result in the emergency call being missed as that crew could already be attending to an incident, or that phone line could be engaged,” Station Officer Ellis said.
“Calling triple zero will ensure that your phone call is answered promptly, that accurate information is provided to the responding crew and they are sent out without delay,” he said.
“We had a number of calls recently where a resident reported a fire directly to the Cessnock Fire Station and the crew was already out attending to another incident so the call was missed.”
Station Officer Ellis said calling triple zero would ensure the call was answered promptly and the adequate resources were immediately allocated to the incident.
He said FRNSW had launched its Get Ready for Winter checklist and encouraged the community to use the checklist to ensure their homes were as fire safe as possible.
FRNSW’s two-page Get Ready for Winter checklist can be accessed at this PS News link.
