Denmark residents will get a hands-on look at what it takes to prepare for bushfires, with emergency services setting up demonstrations and family activities this weekend.
The annual Bushfire Ready Weekend runs from October 30 to November 1 and is expected to draw about 2000 visitors to the area.
It will bring together residents, emergency services and senior officials to help strengthen the community’s preparedness ahead of summer.
Bushfire Ready lead facilitator Murray Brooker said the weekend had earned national recognition for its work in building community resilience, winning an Australian disaster resilience award for community initiatives about a month ago.
The weekend will kick off on Friday with a sundowner, giving residents an opportunity to hear what the upcoming fire season could be like.
Senior meteorologist Gianni Colangelo will brief the community on the summer weather outlook and climate conditions, helping people understand what they could face and how they should prepare.
Saturday will feature the event’s popular fire truck trail, which Mr Brooker said offered far more than a display of emergency service vehicles.
“We have fire trucks, diggers, drones, rooftop sprinklers and we have every emergency service come into town with their vehicles where they can display and recruit new volunteers,” he said.
“We’ve got high tech so we’ve got the virtual reality goggles . . . you put these on and see what facing a bushfire is actually like and gives them a bit of a demonstration of what defending their house would be like in real time and real life.”
Mr Brooker said there would be plenty of activities for kids over the weekend that convey important messages.
“We’ve got lots of activities for kids where they can use the fire hoses, dress up as a fireman, get some photographs taken,” he said.
“At the Denmark RSL they’ll be doing a pillowcase activity which is where the kids will draw or paint onto the pillowcase the things that they would take in an emergency — things like a bottle of water, a teddy bear, a book to read.
“So then if they have to withdraw from their house or evacuate, what the parents can do is say ‘grab your pillowcase’, with their items in it and that saves a whole lot of issues about running around and taking something so that children can feel comfortable in places like an evacuation centre.”
On Sunday, the bushfire games will be played with the brigades competing for the bushfire brigade trophy.
Mr Brooker said the weekend was ultimately about helping residents take responsibility for their own preparedness before an emergency struck.
“I always like to say there are lots of you and few of us, meaning fewer emergency services and lots of residents and the more prepared people are, the easier the job is for us,” he said.
“One hour of preparation saves firefighters three hours on the ground fighting the fire.”
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