At a recent bushfire planning workshop at Kergunyah participants were guided through their family fire plans.
The session was taken by Dederang brigade member Maureen Piera, Chiltern brigade member Will Vale and Captain Koala.
We left the session with plenty to think about and put into action. Some simple and practical information has given us a greater understanding of the meaning of the two options of leaving early or preparing to stay and defend.
I didn't realise I should leave so early and based on the information given to me, I now know I'm totally unprepared to stay and defend.
Kergunyah brigade firefighter and business owner Nikki Clapham said the workshop was a great night full of useful information.
"I already had a farm management plan and a family evacuation plan in place, but after listening to Maureen and Will it became apparent that it wasn't enough," Nikki said.
"I walked away from the workshop with more information about what can happen after a fire, and realised that despite having a plan in place what If I'm not home to grab the important documents and personal belongings before the fire hits?
"One thing I put into place after the meeting was relying more on technology. It can be a useful tool for this type of thing.
"Take the time to scan and upload your important documents like birth certificates, insurance documents and business documents to several different sources such as email them to yourself, put them on a USB drive or upload to the cloud. Paper will burn but you can log into your email account from anywhere in the world and access the information you will need if you lose everything in a fire."
Another participant, Lindsay Jarvis, said, "More folk from the community could have learned a lot, but those that attended the workshop got a lot of information".
Photos in this article were taken by Tracey@_fortitude_photography