CFS News

We hope everyone’s winter is going well and it is good to report we still have been relatively quiet at the time of writing this article. This can rapidly change and we are training hard to stay prepared.

What to do in the event of a house fire

Last month I wrote of structure fires and the situations we could face in such an event. We were responded recently to assist other CFS brigades in neighboring areas, both north and south of Cherry Gardens. These incidents had all the challenges previously mentioned – securing water supplies, determining entry/exit points for the structures, smoke causing a lack of visibility internally, as well as breathing hazards externally. It is well worth spending some time with your families considering what to do in the event of a house fire – it is a time to act calmly and quickly to ensure your loved ones all leave safety. Most importantly, if you ever escape from a burning/smoke filled building never return inside (and stop others) Once everyone is out you are all safe and there will be nothing inside that is worth putting your life at risk.

About the warning siren

The warning siren (pictured) is sounded at the Cherry Gardens station at 0800 every Friday to ensure it remains serviceable. This was an automatic function but currently it is done manually by our members. Although we aim to do this every Friday, there may be some days missed due to other commitments. If there is a local Cherry Gardens fire emergency, the siren will be sounded at that time to warn the area, otherwise there will be just the short test at 0800 on Friday. The Ironbank CFS brigade uses their siren to respond members to call outs, so those who live closer to Ironbank will hear a siren more frequently.

New members

It is great to have a number of new members who have joined us, and they are currently going through basic training in order to become qualified firefighters. The aim of the brigade is to achieve this before the next fire season in order to be at full strength and ready for all events. They are a great group and we welcome them to the CFS world.

Thank you for your support

Thanks again to all who donate cans and bottles. It is a great source of income for us and really does make a difference – we have been able to fund many improvements to our brigade and it is great to have the community working with us.

The Cherry Chatter is a major supporter of our brigade, so congratulations on the new look online initiative. It will provide a much improved and up to date way to provide information to our community and we look forward to contributing in the future.