Wandong Rural Fire Brigade
Rail Street, (P.O. Box 306) Wandong 3758 Phone: (03) 5787 1248
TRAINING - every Sunday from 9:30am and 1st and 3rd Wednesday each month from 7.00pm
Captain: Yorin Miller
1st Lieutenant: Liam Edwards
2nd Lieutenant: Terry Roberts
3rd Lieutenant: Heath McSolvin
4th Lieutenant: Natasha Lasota
President: Brian Dove
Secretary: Helen McMahon
Treasurer: Michelle Kendrick
Communications Officer: Yvette Curlis
Community Safety Coordinator Kylie Shingles
Health and Safety Officer Craig Davis
Chairperson Sandra O'Conner
Training
Training is held on the first and third Wednesday night of the month starting at 7pm. If you are interested in attending a training session to see if joining the Brigade is right for you, contact Lt Liam Edwards on 0424 896 824 or drop in to the station on a training night.
Fire Fighting Equipment Sales and Service
Wandong Fire Brigade is able to sell you firefighting equipment for your business, home or vehicle. We can provide you with many types and sizes of Fire extinguishers, Fire Blankets and Hose Reels. All profits generated go directly to Wandong Fire Brigade to help us maintain our equipment.
Contact Geoff McMahon on 5787 1248 for sales or service.
Community Recruitment
If you would like to join the Wandong Rural Fire Brigade please contact Terry Roberts (2nd Lieutenant) for more details or information wandongcfa@hotmail.com
CFA Burn-Off Line 1800 668 511
Website: http://www.cfa.vic.gov.au/plan-prepare/burning-off/
APRIL 2020
WANDONG FIRE BRIGADE 
COVID-19
In March, Wandong Fire Brigade executive committee met for an outside meeting, adhering to social distancing guidelines, to discuss how the brigade will operate during the COVID-19 pandemic. Wandong Fire Brigade will still be responding to all emergencies when called upon. We have put in place stringent control measures to protect our members to ensure we remain operational. Our interactions may be different to what you are used to, which in-cludes keeping an appropriate distance between people. We may also ask you if you are self isolating or have been diagnosed with COVID-19. At this date, the station is only accessible by members attending a turnout or performing fire extinguisher maintenance duties.
During this time we need to look out for each other and treat everyone with care, compassion and under-standing. Stay safe, Wandong Fire Brigade
Register Your Burn
CFA Fire restrictions were lifted in March. If you are burning off, you must register your burn off with the Burn Off Line on 1800 668 511. From Mitchell Shire Council “Outside of the CFA declared Fire Danger Period, you can burn off on properties of all sizes in Mitchell Shire provided you follow local laws and CFA requirements for your property type. You should also make sure your burn off doesn’t affect your neighbours or create a nuisance beyond your property boundary”.
Royal Children’s Hospital Good Friday Appeal
It is with great sadness that Wandong Fire Brigade will not be taking collections this year for the RCH Good Friday Appeal as we have done for the last 30 years, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. CFA raised more than $1.6 million for the appeal last year, almost 10 per cent of the total amount raised. We encourage you all to donate online or by calling the Good Friday Appeal, and we look forward to returning to collecting in 2021. https://donation.goodfridayappeal.com.au
Daylight Savings
Daylight Savings will end on the 5th April 2020 and everyone is encouraged to check their house smoke alarms. Working smoke alarms are your best defence against preventable residential fires, especially during the night, when people lose their sense of smell. Since 1 August 1997, Victorian law states that smoke alarms (complying with Australian Standards AS3786) must be installed in all homes, units, flats and townhouses. It is the responsibility of all owners and landlords to install working smoke alarms. **Change your old smoke alarms to new units with a lithium battery that has a 10 year lifespan.
A specialised smoke alarm is available for people who are deaf or hard of hearing. Due to the cost of this type of smoke alarm, the Department of Human Services may be able to provide financial assistance via a subsidy. For more information go to the Vicdeaf Smoke Alarm Subsidy webpage.
Check your Chimney, Clean your flue.
On average there are 3000 house fires in Victoria each year. Most could be prevented by taking simple precautions. As we head into the cooler months, it is important to check any heating appliances or other equipment that may not have been used recently. Check your chimneys and flues. Check your electric blankets for kinks in the wiring. See the CFA website for further information. www.cfa.vic.gov.au
Wandong Fire Brigade will be recruiting new firefighters!
We had an awesome response to our recruitment, with a great group of people initiating training. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic all training has been cancelled at this time, and will resume when possible. Training will be Wednesdays 7pm and Thursdays 12.30 – 3.15pm when it resumes.
Wandong Junior Fire Brigade
The Junior program is run on Mondays at the fire station from 6.30 – 8pm. Kids from 11 to 16 years who live in Wandong, Heathcote Junction or Clonbinane are eligible. There is no cost involved. Contact Terry 0413 644 319 or Amanda 0433 995 891 for more details. The Junior program is also on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic.