The Warragul Fire Brigade opened its doors to the public last weekend as part of CFA Sunday celebrations around the state.
The CFA Sunday open day was acknowledged by over 400 brigades across Victoria and featured a free barbeque, face painting, hose and live fire demonstrations, tours of vehicles and equipment, colouring activities and miniature turnout gear for children to try on.
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To see The Warragul Citizen’s photo gallery from the day scroll to the bottom of this article.
Information on fire safety, bushfire survival plans and home fire plans was also available, and many volunteers were at hand to answer questions.
Second Lieutenant of the Warragul Fire Brigade Ian Ronalds told The Warragul Citizen that the enthusiasm of local youth in joining the CFA is encouraging.
“One of the best stories around here would be the new young guys that have turned up, and girls, just seeing them come into the brigade really keen is really is good to see because some brigades rally struggle with members,” Mr Ronalds said.
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“When you join a brigade you give what you can give. It might not necessarily be a firefighter, it might just be helping the brigade in many other areas; family days, working with the community even, so there’s a lot of different parts of the brigade that you can be involved in.”
Volunteer firefighter Mark Gallagher emphasised the importance of having a fire plan.
“[It is important that everyone has] a fire plan, put it into action (sic) well before the fire comes. If they don’t want to stay there then get out the day before. If it’s a bad fire day that’s what I’d be doing. Or just go to your safe area.”
Publicity Officer of the Warragul Brigade Daniel Eshuis said in a media release that the CFA will be conducting more public events in the interest of safety and awareness.
“We’ve been ramping up our community engagement and looking at different ways to engage people,” Mr Eshuis said.
“Whether it’s a barbecue down the street or going along to a community event happening in town, the Chief Officer has said that this is where we’ll save the most lives.”
The CFA held a sausage sizzle yesterday as part of its community engagement program, and an Emergency Services Family Day will be held at the Warragul Downtowner Club on Saturday.
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