NSW Rural Fire Service, Broulee Rural Fire Brigade have in the past implemented the NSW RFS Schools program, Emergency Management and Evacuation Sessions and student based fire awareness sessions with Broulee community schools. The Brigade is continuing to develop this shared responsibility and partnership approach through purchasing mini Fire Danger Rating (FDR) sign within each of 2 school grounds and one long day care facility in our brigade area. This initiative has been trialed in schools in other Regions and has been very successful.Broulee, like many other locations throughout the Far South Coast Team area, is identified in the Eurobodalla Bush Fire Risk Management Plan as a high risk bushfire area. This increases the need for local members of the community to have a full understanding of the importance of the FDR message. The FDR initiative requires a senior student to be responsible to source the information and ensure the correct message is displayed for the entire school community to know (Mon-Friday during the school term). This would happen during the Bush Fire Danger Period only. With the exposure to the FDR message the students throughout their time at the school, it is hoped, will result in them having a full understanding of this important message Community Engagement becomes effective when there is human behavioural change and these signs are intended to provide the students, teachers, parents and community members who work or visit at the school with a full understanding of what the daily FDR is and how important it is to know so that correct and proper decisions can be made if there is a chance of impact of fire. The initiative will be extended into other vulnerable facilities within the Broulee Brigade area in the future. Information regarding Fire Danger can be found on our website at http://www.rfs.nsw.gov.au/fire-information/fdr-and-tobans
Above: The sign being supplied
