CFA District 10, in collaboration with the Dargo Bush Nursing Centre staff, recently offered all residents of the Dargo community free smoke alarm installation to residents’ homes, targeting the most vulnerable to house fires.
District 10’s Community Engagement Coordinator, Jodie Burt led the program, which was advertised and promoted throughout the community by Dargo’s bush nurses.
Ms Burt and three CFA members attended Dargo on March 30, visiting 13 homes and installing more than 45 smoke alarms with 10-year lithium batteries, provided at no cost by the south east region community safety unit.
“I was surprised to see that so many homes did not have any smoke alarms at all, or those that did were either over 50 years old, or not working at all, and installed in incorrect locations in the homes,” Ms Burt said.
One resident had been living in Dargo his whole life, never thought about smoke alarms, and had never tested the one alarm he had in his 150-year-old home.
Photo: Contributed
District 10’s plan is to continue to target remote communities like Dargo to further deliver the service, assisting the most vulnerable in the Gippsland community.
Allan Cracknell, Peter Ryan, Jodie Burt and John Upton and the Bush Nursing Team in Dargo were all thanked by CFA for supporting the coordination of this important service.
For more information about the program, or if you know someone that may benefit from the service, send an email to firesafetyoutreach@cfa.vic.gov.au
Photo: Contributed
