Volunteer bushfire brigades are concerned their fire-fighting capabilities may be quashed by plans to hand responsibility to State authorities.

Western Australian Fire and Emergency Services Commissioner Wayne Gregson believes some local governments would seek to offload their responsibilities onto his department, if a proposal to shift emergency authority goes through.

Terry Hunter, from the WA Association of Volunteer Bushfire Brigades, believes the move could reduce the influence of experienced volunteers, saying “they do a lot of stuff as far as rural goes in theory but they don't get a lot of opportunity to put it into practice... for them to be competent at running large, dynamic-type fires moving over country very quickly; that takes years of experience."

For now experienced and in-touch local volunteers will uphold the responsibility for their areas.