A successful change of tactics in Flinders

"Three years after joining Flinders Fire Brigade as a non-operational member, I now share the role of Community Safety Coordinator with Odilia, who joined the brigade 12 years ago and is currently undergoing training to drive our 3.4 D tanker.

We knew it would be tough getting people to come to our fire station for a pre-fire season briefing and pep talk to get prepared for the coming hot, dry fire weather. 

Our catchment area doesn't include large tracts of bush or forest and is not classified as high risk. However, on the outskirts of Flinders there are rolling hills and grasslands which may, in a worst-case scenario, burn quickly, potentially endangering lives and property.

Our townspeople include long-term residents, as well as those who have a holiday home in Flinders. Our population explodes over summer as people flock to the beaches and the playground that is the Mornington Peninsula and the beauties of Western Port.

Importantly, many visitors and holiday makers may not understand our local fire risks and conditions. 

For our Get Fire Ready event, new strategies were called for to get the message out. The Get Fire Ready page on the CFA website provided the impetus Odilia and I needed.

The Flinders Art Show is an institution in our small town and everyone attends it. Although we have a magnificent new civic centre, there was no way CFA could take up valuable real estate in the hall for a display as it was full of paintings, sculptures and photographs and all manner of art works.

The brigade had invested in a marquee, and we set that up under the wide veranda out of the weather and mounted our own art show of sorts inside. 

Using Get Fire Ready resources and other CFA resources and messages we mounted displays on the red marquee wall using local photos to illustrate key fire safety topics. Visitors identified familiar street numbers, fire hydrants and entrance gates around the Flinders area. 

We invited people to mark their home on the large format maps, enabling residents to get a wider view of where they lived in relation to potential fire risks, escape routes (there's one road in and one road out of Flinders) and possible places to shelter.  

The offer of a free raffle ticket for a hamper of summer safety items including a fire extinguisher, a fire blanket, head and handheld torches, sunscreen, a snake bite bandage and a pair of leather gloves was well received as were the Get Fire Ready calico tote bags.  

Whilst we didn't capture all those who visited the Art Show on Sunday 1 November, we spoke to more than 160 people, including a potential brigade recruit. We added 16 people to our Community enewsletter that informs residents about Total Fire Ban days and other fire safety issues in Flinders, and had productive discussions with residents about specific fire safety concerns.  

On the back of this success, Odilia and I will be attending the Flinders Community Association annual dinner next weekend and will set up a small table with Get Fire Ready bags which will include a flyer detailing ways in which Flinders residents can engage directly with Flinders Fire Brigade. 

Taking advantage of community activities in Flinders and having a presence at events people chose to attend, rather than struggling to get them to come to the fire station, is proving to be a successful strategy. We can reach more than 100 people rather than a dozen or two.

The community groups running these two events believe that CFA's presence at the events is positive and inclusive.  

Our next project is engaging with the many visitors to Flinders. We are setting up meetings with local real estate agents who organise holiday rentals, and our hotel and motel managers to work out how best to engage with their visitors. 

Finally, on the strength of the success of last year's inaugural family fun morning, we will again be cranking up the barbecue for a free sausage sizzle just after Christmas, when many families take up residence in Flinders. Kids can squirt some water from the brigade tanker and play some games on the grass outside the civic centre in the main street next to the shops.

This is another opportunity to get some fire safety messages across to our residents and our visitors. It's another example of our community safety strategy – meeting and engaging with our community and visitors where they choose to be. "