Any brigade holding an open day hopes to attract large crowds, but sometimes this can be difficult especially in the busy pre-Christmas period.
In early December members from Drouin West Fire Brigade tried a new way of reaching our communty which was very successful. We held our open day in conjunction with the local community market on the first Saturday of the month in Jindivick and we also invited a local health service, Latrobe community Health to join with us in delivering important messages leading up to the fire season about staying safe.
More than 100 members of the Community attended and were keen to talk with volunteers about what they needed to do to prepare for any emergency. Whilst the focus was around preparing for the fire season, people were keen to understand what they needed to do in the event of storms and floods and also heatwaves. It was reassuring for brigade members to observe that our Property Advice Visit Service (PAVS) campaign over the past three years to hundreds of local residents is bearing fruit. We heard that most people were aware of the need for a fire ready plan and regularly tune into the Emergency Management App on their smart phone for potential action in the event of predicted risky days.
Highlights from the open day were;
- The high number of people who have actually developed a plan and know what they are going to do on an Extreme or Code Red Day
- Attendance by nurses from Latrobe Community Health who were able to provide important information relating to heat stress and the dangers of smoke.
- A visit by Captain Koala who made a special trip from Headquarters to entertain not just the children but also the parents
- An opportunity for children to dress like a firefighter and squirt some water.
- The ability of community members to have one on one conversations with volunteers about not just their preparation for the fire season but also flood water and storms.
- To provide updates to the community on Baw Baw Shire’s updated Open Air Burning Policy
Over all it was a successful day and finished off a 3 week campaign in which the Brigade also door knocked around 60 properties throughout Jindivick and Drouin West to provide information as part of our PAVs program.
#weworkasone
Ruth McGown
Community Safety Coordinator - Drouin West Fire Brigade
Author: Bruce Jewell