By Callum Ludwig
The annual Warburton Bushfire Community Meeting is coming around again and remains a crucial opportunity for local residents to ensure they are properly prepared for the upcoming fire season.
The event will be held at the Warburton CFA station at 7pm on Thursday 5 December and will go for about an hour.
Warburton CFA Captain Ron McIntosh said the brigade’s concerns are always the same for every year and that is hopefully that they can contain and extinguish any fire in a fast and safe manner.
“Locals and visitors alike should always have a fire plan when venturing around this beautiful countryside and enact it when needed, they should bring the correct clothing and
also have battery-operated equipment such as radios and torches to see and keep up with events if power should go out,” he said.
What would you say to encourage people to find out more about how they can be fire-ready, especially if they can attend the meeting?
“Go onto cfa.vic.gov.au where it will tell you what you need to know and if unsure, reach out to your local brigade and ask which you can also do via their Facebook page.”
Two special guests will be joining the meeting to share their expertise; Kevin Bargar from the local Warburton Emergency Planning Group and CFA’s Community Liaison for Bushfire Engagement Ben Cash
Mr McIntosh said hopefully this meeting can help some if not all to make better decisions if the need arises.
“Kevin will be talking a bit about the Warburton Emergency Planning Group and being resilient if we get cut off [from services or utilities] and Ben is talking about being prepared, how to stay informed, what to expect from fire and local risks,” he said.
“I just hope that everybody enjoys the Summer season and stays informed about events happening around them, we say it every year but every year it doesn’t burn means it is more likely to happen this year,”
“The main message to get across isto be aware of what is happening around you, stay informed, don’t put yourself or others in the way of danger, make a plan and carry it out if needed.”
