Northern Territory Police, Fire and Emergency Services have had a busy night but agree it was one of the quietest ‘cracker nights’ on record for the Southern region.
The Northern Region responded to an above average number of call outs but were pleased with the overall behaviour of people celebrating Territory Day.
District Officer Robert Trewartha said the majority were responsible and took simple steps to reduce the risks associated with using fireworks.
“Although we were busy, the grass fires were mostly small and were extinguished without damage to surrounding properties. I would have to say we were happy with what is traditionally a very busy night.
“Our more serious fires occurred after the 11pm cut off time for crackers to be legally lit.
“A structure fire in Durack destroyed two cars and caused smoke damage to the house where they were parked. Thankfully there were no injuries. Investigations into that incident are continuing.
“A grass fire on the Cox Peninsular at around midnight kept Bushfire crews busy and several units were required to bring it under control.”
Over the six hour period between 6pm and 12pm yesterday there were 1,703 calls made to ‘000’ across the Territory. Of those, 1,335 were calls for assistance from the Fire and Rescue Service.
The NTFRS responded to 189 call outs across the Northern Territory of which the vast majority were to extinguish grass fires.
Darwin Fire Units and Rural Area Bushfire Volunteers were kept busy with 147 call outs, Alice Springs firefighters responded to 14 events, Tennant Creek 10, Katherine 10, Nhulunbuy 5, Yulara 2 and Jabiru 1.
Senior Station Officer John Kleeman said the Southern Region was assisted by a cold night but had to contend with a major grass fire in Tennant Creek in the early afternoon that threatened the local airport and nearby premises.
“There were reports of firecrackers being let off in the vicinity before the call came in of a fire at around 1.30pm.
"The response from NTFRS personnel, volunteers and local business groups ensured no infrastructure was lost and as the weather cooled down and the winds diminished so too did the number of calls.
“Overall it was one of the quieter Territory Day events in our zone.”
