Residents of Port Stephens can find out how to prepare for the bushfire season when Rural Fire Service brigades throw open their doors to the public this Saturday from 10am and 2pm
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Brigades at Medowie, Salt Ash/Williamtown and Soldiers Point are taking part in the annual RFS Get Ready Weekend giving communities the chance to meet the volunteers and find out how to prepare their homes and properties against fire this summer.
With an ‘above normal’ bush fire season predicted, Medowie Fire Brigade open day coordinator Gavin Smith said the event was a timely opportunity to find out about how to prepare a bush fire survival plan.
“There will be plenty of activities for the kids with fire trucks and equipment on display, games and a sausage sizzle,” he said.
Bunnings Warehouses in Taylors Beach and Heatherbrae will also help residents get ready for the fire season this weekend.
From 12.30pm on Saturday and Sunday, the warehouses will run Bushfire Preparedness DIY Workshops in partnership with the RFS.
Port Stephens is teaming up with the NSW Rural Fire Service (NSW RFS) for the annual Get Ready Weekend that aims to help Port Stephens locals get in the know about bushfire season preparedness.
The workshops will offer helpful advice and useful resources on how residents can prepare their homes to be bushfire ready throughout summer.
NSW RFS Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said the service’s annual Get Ready Weekend campaign is a great chance for people to learn simple but vital steps that will make a big difference in the event of a bushfire.
“Given the early start to bushfire season this year, it’s so important to be prepared,” he said.
“Preparing for bushfires is easier than people may think. It could be as simple as mowing your lawn, clearing debris and flammable materials on your property, cleaning your gutters and talking to your family about what you would do if a bush fire was to start near them.”
Port Stephens residents had an early taste of what they could expect this summer when a large and at times out of control fire spread across the Tilligerry Peninsula in August. The fire burned through more than 2000 hectares of land at Oyster Cove, Salt Ash, Tanilba Bay, Mallabula and Lemon Tree Passage.
At the same time, a fire burned through 38 hectares of land within Tomaree National Park near Shoal Bay.
Port Stephens alongside Lake Macquarie, Newcastle, Maitland and Cessnock LGAs all began their bushfire danger periods on September 1 – a month earlier than previous years.
“With the entire state in drought and ongoing warm conditions expected over the coming months, it’s more crucial than ever for residents to be vigilant around their properties,” Scot MacDonald MLC, the Parliamentary Secretary for the Hunter, said.
“We’re fortunate to have some of the most skilled and experienced firefighters in the world here in NSW; however, they’re facing a potentially long and protracted bush fire season so we all need to do our part in the community to be as prepared as possible.”
