The team of four Tri-Service personnel and one Bushfires NT member will be departing Victoria this weekend as the fire situation eases and Interstate resources are demobilised.

NT Fire and Rescue District Officer Ian Lockley said the team were looking forward to getting home after a hard couple of weeks,

"They have been long, hard days and incredibly diverse for those involved, so while the team have embraced the opportunity and contributed wherever possible, it will be nice to get home.

"Although a small contingent, the team have acquitted themselves extremely well and have risen to the enormity of the situation.

" There are many lessons learnt and experiences we will be bringing back to the Territory and recording for future deployments . There will need to be a de-briefing process and this will be conducted over the next couple of weeks.

"The three arms of the Tri-Service and Bushfires NT have worked extremely well together and each member has brought a different set of skills and experience to this deployment." District Officer Lockley said.

At this stage, the base camp at Healesville is in the last stages of demobilisation and will be handed back to local control for finalisation, as will the Incident Control Centre at Woori Yallock.

The Darwin flight arrives at 12.55 on Sunday 8 March including:
Team Coordinator, District Officer Ian Lockley - Northern Territory Fire and Rescue;
Sergeant Hege Burns - Northern Territory Police - Darwin;
Bob White, Bushfires NT
The Alice Springs flight arrives at 10.20 on Sunday 8 March including:
Station Officer Gerry Laverty - Northern Territory Fire and Rescue.
Alice Springs based Rob Romaldi, Northern Territory Emergency Service will be taking well deserved leave, arriving back into Alice Springs on 10 March.


Media contact:
Katie Fowden
8901 0281