Firebombing aircraft dispatched from Stawell have arrived ahead of trucks at several fires across District 16 this season, including the Moyston blaze in January.

As the Stawell Times-News first reported in December last year, two fixed wing fire bombing aircraft located at Stawell airport were modified to dispatch to support ground crews at grass or bush fires on high risk days.

The pilots of the aircraft have been equipped with pagers, meaning they are activated the same way as fire brigades.

In the past, aircraft in Victoria could only be called in to a fire once ground crews had arrived.

CFA District 16 Operations Manager, Chris Eagle said he would like to see the pre-determined dispatch system rolled out permanently next fire season as it has been proven to have made a difference this summer.

"The aircraft themselves have gone really well, the system had a significant impact in the Moyston fire, but also on the number of other small fires we've had," he said.

"The planes have arrived their quick and that has added to keeping the fires small.

"While it's really hard to say whether the planes kept all of those fires small, there's no doubt the planes have had an effect in keeping some of the fires small."

The two fixed wing fire bombing agricultural aircraft at Stawell hold 3200 litres of water and can also carry foam or firefighting retardant to drop onto fire.

The main advantage of the pre-determined dispatch system is that the aircraft that respond are able to drop initial loads of water onto the head of the fire much quicker.

Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) Chief Fire Officer, Alan Goodwin said the idea behind the pre-determined system was to get aircraft in the sky as quickly as possible to provide strong first attack and support firefighters on the ground.

"So far this season we've seen a number of fires with serious potential to impact communities that were pulled up and contained due to the work of aircraft at that critical early stage," he said.

CFA Chief Officer, Euan Ferguson said it was important to get the message out to landholders with private firefighting equipment that aircraft might be arriving before trucks.

"Our firefighters are briefed about coordinating their attack on the fire with aircraft, but we are concerned that landowners tackling fires on their own properties might not know to move away when an aircraft is approaching to drop a load of water or retardant," he said.

"Many farmers are fully equipped to fight fires; indeed it is a legislated requirement that landowners take reasonable steps to stop the spread of unplanned fire on their property.

"The difference is now there might be aircraft circling ahead rather than a fire truck approaching and directing them.

"Once aircraft are moving in the safest thing to do is to move away from the fire's edge, so that pilots can get on with the job."

Mr Ferguson said that pilots must ensure that an area is completely clear of people before making a drop.

"Pilots will always endeavour to do a dummy run first where they fly the path they are going to take," he said.

"Most are equipped with an audible siren that will sound as they are coming in on their actual run."