MidCoast Council have wrapped up a successful bushfire safety campaign that has reached almost 10,000 residents. This was the result of community requests to be better prepared and ready for bushfires and floods.
The Preparation to Resilience Project was a 15-month program put together to encourage residents to write a bushfire preparedness plan which could potentially save lives and assets in future emergencies.
It was funded through the Federal Government Black Summer Bushfire Recovery Program. It allowed MidCoast Council’s Bushfire Preparedness Officer, Peter Brown, along with several emergency services to host more than 70 workshops throughout the MidCoast region.
“The objective was to get as many residents as possible to write a plan so that the next time an emergency happens, they are prepared for it,” he said.
“In most of the workshops we held there were probably only one or two at each event that already had a plan in place.
“During these workshops we talked about bushfire preparedness, how to write a plan and the importance of being ready and identifying options for different scenarios.”
The simtable was used to show fire behaviour and the value of Asset Protection Zones and other preparations which can assist in disasters.
Residents attending the workshops were able to claim a free kit that contained a Rural Bushfire Services Survival Plan template, a hand cranked and solar powered radio, which includes a light and becomes a power bank for mobile phones, and a waterproof document holder, for all your important personal documents.
Any disaster planning is applicable to other disasters.
It’s a fact – if you and your home are well prepared, you stand a better chance of surviving a bushfire or any other disaster.
If you have a kit, please write out a plan and discuss what’s in it with your family, neighbours, and friends.
The RFS are able to assist with any questions about writing a bushfire survival plan. Contact them at their offices in Foster (Ph: 6539 7700) or Taree (Ph: 6591 2900).
If you missed out on one of the free kits, they are still available at MidCoast Council Customer Service Centres and libraries.
