Rural Fire Service brigades will have access to forward looking infrared cameras, which Inspector Tim Butcher said would be helpful on the job.

“They are of particular use during structural incidents inside buildings and houses also at motor vehicle accidents to identify sources of ignition and to make sure the fires have been extinguished completely,” he said.

With summer approaching they would also be useful in bushfires.

“We give them to crews as they’re blacking out and mopping up and securing the edges of the fire,” Inspector Butcher said.

“Using these heat cameras, we can make sure that the fire has been thoroughly extinguished.”

Inspector Butcher said the season was “looking very grim” in August.

Rainfalls of about 75mm eased fire concerns temporarily, however the long-term outlook was not “rosy”.

“We are talking about the possibility of still going into an El Niño,” he said.

“If we do go into El Niño, we are going to be having a drier and hotter summer then we normally do.”

The service is very concerned about unmanaged land, including eastern fall country and the gorge.

“Anything that has got stock on it has generally been fuel reduced with grazing, but some of the ungrazed lands have got a significant build up and the underlying dryness of this year is significant,” he said.