By Charlene Macaulay
Ever wondered how first responders react in an emergency situation?
You’ll be able to see for yourself next month when the Truganina Fire Brigade hosts its annual open day.
Volunteer firefighters will be joined by members from the police air wing, uniform police, paramedics, State Emergency Service volunteers, the Coast Guard and other first responders, and will take part in mock-incidents to show how emergency services respond.
Truganina CFA member Michele Abbott said last year’s event attracted about 1500 people.
“The community only see us when they need us,” Ms Abbott said.
“This gives people the whole picture. We do scenarios on the day, the idea is to show the community that when we’re at an incident there’s responsibilities we all have, and we all work together.”
The brigade’s junior members will do a demonstration on the day, while other members will educate locals about home fire safety.
Ms Abbott said the brigade wanted to reduce the number of structure fires in the area by 20 per cent over the next 12 months, due to recent increases in these types of fires.
The open day also doubles as a recruitment drive to help boost Truganina Fire Brigade’s numbers. The Truganina branch has about 60 operational and non-operational members.
The Truganina Fire Brigade open day will be held on October 14 from 10am-3pm at the corner of Leakes Road and Sunset Views Boulevard, Tarneit.
