Brigade and Community Engagement
- Details
- Published: Saturday, 05 September 2015 08:48
- Written by Doug Holden
THE Tathra Rural Fire Brigade has been about this week educating future generations of volunteer firefighters. The brigade visited the Tathra Preschool, where it demonstrated what firefighters do, the equipment they use and giving hands-on experience to the children.
Tathra Brigade captain Adam Wiggins and crew attended the Preschool recently and will make further visits.
“It was a delight to see the toddlers so fascinated and absorbed by our bright safety uniforms and vehicles, by all our equipment and what we do,” Captain Wiggins said. “There is nothing more delightful than seeing children so interested, and in wonder at all that goes with the important work of their local rural brigade.”
The Tathra Brigade will continue visits to local schools this week. On Friday it conducts a visit to the “bigger kids” at Tathra Public School. Talks and demonstrations will be conducted at the school in four sessions for all 200 Tathra Public School pupils. The brigade will also be involved in information, demonstrations and educational exercises with the pupils leading up to the NSW Rural Fire Service Get Ready Weekend on September 12-13 (see below).
Tathra getting ready for bushfire season
The Tathra community has come together for a number of major events to embrace Get Ready Weekend, a state-wide Rural Fire Service exercise to prepare for the coming bushfire season. The aim of the weekend is to provide the 2000-plus residents in the wider Tathra area with information that will enable them to play their part in planning their own responses to any bushfire threat in the coming season.
“Our Tathra Rural Fire Service Brigade volunteer members have decades of experience and are in constant training to deal with threats - but we are only as good as our community is prepared,” Tathra RFS Captain Adam Wiggins said. “Get Ready Weekend is about community members taking charge of planning for their own preparation and response to bushfires. “We will give them the resources, advice and help wherever we can,” he said. In the next two weeks, the Tathra RFS will be involved at events at sports clubs around the town, including sponsoring through generous commercial contributions the Tathra golf monthly medals, Tathra bowls and major raffle nights, as well as information sessions around the town.
The weekend of September 12-13 will culminate in an Open Day at the Tathra Rural Fire Service Station on Bega St, 10am until 2pm on the Sunday. The open day will involve hands-on displays for kids and older folk, a free barbecue, a variety of prizes for attendees, kids' competitions, and show bags for all. There will also be an opportunity for all attendees to go in a draw to win an iPad. On hand will be information, materials and advice on how to prepare a bushfire plan. Captain Wiggins said he was pleased to welcome the support of major sponsor Big W, and other sponsors Woolworths, the Family Grocers, Fat Tony’s, Tathra Cellars, Stafford’s, Mimosa Meats, Cliff Place, Tathra Fuel Services, the Tathra Newsagency and other pending supporters for this great community effort.
