The largest aircraft to be trialled to fight fires in Australia’s history arrived in Victoria today and will be ready for deployment in a bushfire emergency from early January.

At Avalon Airport today, the Premier John Brumby, Emergency Services Minister Bob Cameron and Victoria’s fire chiefs welcomed the new DC-10-30 aircraft on its arrival from the United States.

Mr Brumby said Victoria would be the first Australian state to trial the effectiveness of the large waterbombing plane in the firefighting effort.

“There has never been a greater effort to make our state as fire-safe and as fire-ready as possible, with communities across Victoria putting in a massive effort to prepare,” Mr Brumby said.

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