Residents from District 11's Mt Taylor community attended a community bushfire exercise facilitated by members from the Community Safety Team, local brigade and local district office.
Residents from East Gippsland's Mt Taylor community attended the CFA exercise on Sunday 25 November at Mt Taylor Fire Station. Over 90 residents attended and worked through a local fire scenario set up by our Forest Fire Management (FFM) partners using Pheonix modelling. Residents were then presented with information from the Emergency Management Team from East Gippsland Shire, the local police and District 11 Operations Officer Miles Malcolm.
The focus of the event was to prepare community members for an emergency in the loca area. Residents were informed of the importance of preparing their properties for fire season, and the importance of preparing themselves, both mentally and physically for a fire event in the local landscape.
Residents were urged to complete a personal plan for themselves, their family and their beloved pets and to also ensure they knew who their neighbours were so they could support each other in the event of an emergency. Participants were also educated about the importance of staying informed by listening to various media channels on days of high fire risk.
Mt Taylor Brigade captain Geoff Crane was very enthusiastic about the event and took a lead hand in facilitating and supporting the day, along with some very enthusiastic members from other brigades in the Mitchell Group.
The local Lion's club catered for the event enabling time for locals, members and agency staff to network with one another and seek further advice and local knowledge.
We received some great feedback from some of the community members from the day such as: "that was very imformative", "what a great session", "I learned so much today and met some great people who I didn't know even lived nearby".
The coordination of the event was completed by Community Engagement Coordinator Jodie Wilmes, Community Liasion Bushfire Engagement staff (CLBE) Allan Cracknell and Ben Trotter who form part of the South East Region Community Safety Team.