Denmark prepares ahead of summer with a bushfire ready weekend

Denmark is gearing up to host a bushfire-ready weekend at the Raintree Estate to raise awareness and community engagement for the fast-approaching bushfire season.

Bushfire Ready Denmark, the Shire of Denmark, Department of Fire and Emergency Services, and The Dam and Cannabis Botanical Distillery have all partnered for the event, which will run from November 3-5.

The upcoming summer season is predicted to be the driest since 2019-2020, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese warning the nation will face enormous issues.

Despite volunteers keenly serving the community, volunteer numbers and government resources for community mitigation are limited and on the decline.

Murray Brooker is captain of the Mt Lindesay fire brigade, the Shire’s fire compliance officer, and lead facilitator of the weekend’s Bushfire Ready event. He said the event was to prepare the community for the upcoming fire season.

“We’re always ready when emergency strikes and our volunteers give 110 per cent time and time again,” Mr Brooker said.

“What we are urging the community to do is to engage, prepare and protect.

“Should the threat of a fire become a reality, which is likely given the conditions we’re looking at, the groundwork the community has laid can either enhance or drastically hinder firefighting efforts.

“We need the community as much as they need us.”

The Dam owner Steve Birkbeck saw firsthand the devastation wrought by the fires in 2022 with water from his dams instrumental in fighting the blaze.

He has since become a firm advocate for bushfire-ready management, protection and education.

“It’s no longer acceptable to sit back and leave it to firefighting bodies,” Mr Birkbeck said.

“We as individuals and businesses with influence have a role to play and I urge the community to put bushfire readiness front of mind, support our first responders and decision-makers and be involved like your life depends on it.”

The weekend will see the announcement of Bushfire Ready grants funded by the Raintree Fire Day Fund, along with addresses by the Minister for Emergency Services Stephen Dawson, Fire and Emergency Services Commissioner Darren Klemm, and DFES Great Southern officer Derek Jones.

On the Sunday, a new hydrant will be unveiled and a recruitment drive will run through Denmark offering DFES bushfire preparation toolkits, workshops, and brigade games to community members.

Workshops will be run at the Civic Centre from 1pm on how to prepare a property for a bushfire, creating a bushfire emergency plan, and a Q and A session.

All the family fun will be at Denmark Senior High School Oval from 10am on November 5, where activities such as a tug of war, fire hose dodgeball, emergency drill, a hose run exercise, and an egg and spoon relay would be held.