News

How a Bass burn-off went horribly wrong

THE day after a total fire ban day in Bass Coast in January this, when temperatures hit 39 degrees and there was a 45km/h wind running, a 28-year-old Bass man decided it was a good day to have a burn-off. Not such a good idea as it turned out.

by Michael Giles

Published December 11, 2025

How a Bass burn-off went horribly wrong — Left unattended overnight, coals from a small bonfire at Bass in January this year ignited a grass fire on a relatively cool but windy day, resulting in damage to a house, nearby parked cars, a farm fence and hay bales in the adjoining paddock.

Not such a good idea as it turned out.

Admittedly, by Tuesday, January 28, when the Finlay Road resident, Glen Wilson, started his fire, to burn-off some cardboard and other household refuse, the wind had backed off to 30km/h and the day’s top temperature was a more moderate 23 degrees.

There had also been 2.4ml of rain.

But it had been a very dry start to the year in Bass Coast with hardly any rainfall for the whole month and the local area recording an average daily temperature of 27 degrees.

The country was straw-coloured dry and any fire left unattended was likely to cause problems. And it did.

Mr Wilson appeared in the Korumburra Magistrates Court on Thursday, December 11, charged with a number of offences around lighting a fire without a permit during a declared Fire Danger Period and allowing a fire to remain alight in a declared Fire Danger Period.

Magistrate Tony Burns said it was the latter offence which concerned him most.

A number of parked cars were damaged when the blaze escaped from a burn-off.

According to a summary of the incident read to the court by Leading Senior Constable Tim Cavanagh, Wilson conducted the burn-off on his 2-acre property at Bass on January 28, and allegedly supervised the fire until 3am on January 29 by which time it had been reduced to coals.

He retired inside for the night, not considering that the coals needed to be doused with water, and sometime the next day, winds fanned the former burn-off into a grass fire which destroyed a number of cars parked on the site, some farm fencing and also impacted a bedroom, rendering the house inhabitable.

Some grassland and bales of hay were burnt in the process with a significant number of fire fighters and trucks attending the scene on Wednesday afternoon and evening, January 29.

In handing down a penalty, Magistrate Burns asked about Mr Wilson's circumstances and whether he had been sued over the incident.

The fast-food restaurant staff member said the neighbouring farmer had forgiven him for his mistake and there were no on-going issues.

Wilson was fined $500 without conviction over the incident.

A large number of brigades were called to the scene at Bass last January only days after a total fire ban day involving hazardous fire conditions.

The resolution of the matter should serve as a warning to others that they are not allowed to burn-off grass, stubble, weeds, undergrowth, other vegetation or waste in the open air during a Fire Danger Period unless:

You have a Fire Danger Period permit issued by CFA, FRV or a Municipal Fire Prevention Officer, depending on the location of the activity
You have a written permit issued by a Fire Prevention Officer of a public authority if planning to burn on land under their jurisdiction
You comply with the conditions of that permit
A person is in attendance at all times while the fire is alight and has the capacity and means to extinguish the fire
The fire is completely extinguished before the person leaves.