Emergency area powers

An officer of the police on duty in or near the emergency area may exercise the following powers:

close any road, footpath or open space providing access to the emergency area;
prohibit any person or vehicle from entering or passing through the emergency area;
direct any person within the emergency area to immediately leave by the safest and shortest route; and
authorise a person to enter or remain in the emergency area, subject to conditions.

Who controls response to fires?

To ensure that suppression of any fire in Victoria is under the control of a single agency, an officer of one of the firefighting agencies (the Department of Sustainability and Environment, the CFA and the MFESB) may be appointed to take overall control of response activities, even at the scene of the fire. If the agencies cannot reach agreement, the response DISPLAN coordinator has the final say.

Who controls emergency responses other than to fires?

The officers in charge of agencies may determine the priority of the responsibilities of those agencies during or in anticipation of an emergency. If they cannot reach agreement, the DISPLAN coordinator determines the priority of the response roles of the agencies (Emergency Management Act 1986 (Vic)).