General News
7 August, 2026
Alister part of US fire fight
The field operations supervisor based at the Forest Fire Management Victoria’s St Arnaud depot is among 27 Victorian firefighters and emergency service personnel on a month-month deployment.
FIREFIGHTER Alister Kirk has been sent to the United States to assist in the battle to contain dozens of fires that have already destroyed more than two million hectares.
The field operations supervisor based at the Forest Fire Management Victoria’s St Arnaud depot is among 27 Victorian firefighters and emergency service personnel on a month-month deployment.
Two years ago, Mr Kirk and Dillon Baldock had a 35-day stint in an Australian team helping firefighters in Canada.
The latest international response has seen FFMVic and Country Fire Authority staff first meet with their counterparts Australia and New Zealand in Sydney, before continuing to the US for a month-long deployment.
The deployment forms part of the Australian and New Zealand contingent supporting United States wildfire agencies under longstanding reciprocal international arrangements.
FFMVic firefighters and incident management staff are undertaking specialist operational roles including liaison officers, taskforce leaders, sector commanders, field safety officers, heavy plant and aviation operations managers.
Acting Emergency Management Commissioner, Therese Fitzgerald said: “Victoria’s specialist personnel have again answered the call to support our international partners as they tackle these significant wildfires.”
“Thank you to the firefighters, incident management teams, support staff and their families who have made sacrifices to support the United States in their time of need.”
FFMVic Chief Fire Officer, Chris Hardman said: “We are proud to support our US firefighting partners as they respond to increasingly challenging wildfire conditions. Our highly skilled personnel will contribute their expertise, while gaining valuable experience, that strengthens Victoria’s bushfire preparedness and response capability.”
Firefighters are working to suppress and contain 85 large fires across the country, including nine new large incidents late last week.
A total of 27,038 firefighters and support personnel are engaged in nationwide fire activity, including 587 crews, 1615 engines, and 200 helicopters.
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