Community engagement program winners RFSfireup2012

Four of our Community Engagement Programmes received awards. HUGE congrats Otford, Wollombi, Kenthurst and Canyonleigh Brigades! RFSfireup2012

Taken from Engagement Matters (an e-newsletter for members of the NSW RFS)

Good news stories: Award winners

This year we introduced the Community Engagement Program Awards, which were awarded at our conference. We would like to congratulate and thank the following brigades for the quality of work they are doing in their communities:

· Kenthurst RFB
· Canyonleigh RFB
· Wollombi RFB
· Otford RFB.

These brigades were found to be running programs that were considered outstanding against the selection criteria below.

· Evaluation and continuous improvement as part of their programme.
· Actively sought to share their programme with other brigades.
· Delivered the programme over several years.
· Worked to involve brigade members and their skills in their programme.

Kenthurst Rural Fire Brigade’s ‘Community Inclusion Programme’ encouraged the community to take responsibility for their own preparedness. A letter box drop is used to promote workshops that run through fire behaviour, preparing your property and Bush Fire Survival Plan, and includes a site visit to look at a prepared home and run through how to use pumps and hoses. This program includes live demonstrations so that participants can experience what radiant heat feels like, and practice techniques to put out fires. The Brigade prepared a DVD and has visited other brigades to share the program.

Canyonleigh Rural Fire Brigade's ‘Women’s Bush Fire Awareness Program’ encourages all brigade members to contribute and has now been running successfully for a few years. Workshops run through fire behaviour, preparing yourself and your property, hands on skills training and property assessments in the following months.

The workshops are effective because of their hands-on nature. Women are expected to complete activities under stress created by loud noises, time pressure, heat and darkness, giving them a taste for what it will be like to make a decision when there is a fire. This multi-award winning transfers skills to the community, with an emphasis on warmth, welcome and follow-up with participants.

Wollombi Rural Fire Brigade’s ‘Community Preparedness Program’ consists of workshops (including one for women only) followed up by a Firewise cafe, where people are introduced to the risks of bush fire,the importance of preparing a Bush Fire Survival Plan and factors they need to consider when deciding whether to Leave Early or Stay and Defend. Follow-up surveys have found that 94% of attendees completed a Bush Fire Survival Plan or felt they had sufficient knowledge to complete one following the workshop. A core feature is robust planning and adaptation to local needs. The brigade strongly supports shared learnings and the program contains a strong element of evaluation.

Otford Rural Fire Brigade’s ‘Urban Interface Program’ is cleverly marketed as pre-incident planning. The program includes bowling hoses, intelligence gathering and community engagement all rolled into one. All brigade members are involved and improves their knowledge of property access and defendability. This is an ongoing program for the Otford Brigade who plan to visit the majority of properties in the area. Residents are encouraged to take responsibility for their own property, complete a Bush Fire Survival Plan and ensure their property has suitable access. The program has been shared with other brigades and improves brigade familiarisation with the area.