On Saturday 7 March Mallacoota Fire Brigade carried out a series of community safety courses.
According to Lt Graham Clark, “As part of our planning for a fuel reduction burn, we needed to ensure that our community was prepared. The best way was for the brigade to learn more about the Property Advice Visit Service (PAVS) so we contacted CFA and registered our interest in the program.”
After registering, they learnt about the new community safety training program which involves completing PUAFIR208B – Participate in Community Safety Activities. The brigade decided to complete this course as well.
Twelve members of the brigade attended the training day which began with a session on PAVS, a program designed to improve individual residents’ knowledge of their local bushfire hazard, preparation activities and leave-early planning. This service is delivered face-to-face by suitable CFA members at the homes of residents living in the most dangerous bushfire locations in Victoria.
Brigades can use local knowledge and/or CFA mapping data to identify households with the highest fire risk. Using the Victorian Fire Risk Register (VFRR) CFA has identified more than 110,000 properties within 150 metres of the bush as being at most risk, with 742 located in Mallacoota.
Mallacoota is the first brigade in District 11 to complete the PAVS awareness session, with a brigade in District 9 completing the course just before the fire season.
After lunch, brigade members began the second component of the training - the Participate in Community Safety Activities course. This is the second course that has been run in the South East, following one in District 8.
The course has been designed for members who would like to know more about delivering community safety messages and obtain a recognised competency, and those looking to take on the new role of Community Safety Coordinator.
The course covers subjects such as
- Introduction to community safety
- Hazard identification
- Fire hazards in the bush, house and workplace
- Other emergency hazards
- Hazard mitigation
- Community engagement techniques, including support tools.
According to Lt Clark, “Brigade members were out in force door knocking on the Sunday, utilising the skills and resources attained from the course and presenting a community safety image to the residents of Mallacoota. The brigade is thankful for the support of District 11 HQ and Bruce Jewell, the new South East PAVS coordinator and brigade community safety trainer and assessor, for bringing the PAVS course to Mallacoota at such short notice and for delivering and assessing the formal training.”
Brigade community safety training such as this is available to any brigade, not just those with properties in high-risk areas. If you'd like to know more, contact your local Community Education Coordinator.
NB. For those brigades in District 11, another course is being run in Bruthen on 29 March. For more information about this course, contact Melanie McLeod at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Other districts stay tuned for further courses.
Author: Bruce Jewell