A new project aimed at bringing about recovery support and connectedness to Far South Coast Rural Fire Service (RFS) members has recently received a generous funding boost from the Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal (FRRR).
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The project dubbed Fire Shed Friday's will be a series of social events set in a casual, social environment where RFS members and their families will have the opportunity to connect and share their experiences of recovery.
Far South Coast RFS district manager, Angus Barnes, said this project was very important for Eurobodalla and Far South Coast brigades that hadn't had been able to get together support each other after the Black Summer Fires.
"We didn't get the opportunity to debrief with the brigades, or work through recovery post the fire season, it all got put aside because we went straight into lockdown," Mr Barnes said.
Mr Barnes said it was a fitting time to get the members and their families together to "start reconnecting, now that we've been through the worst of the lockdowns".
"Our members need to be able to sit down and just have a yarn with their peers because they fully understand what they have been through," he said.
Our members need to be able to sit down and just have a yarn with their peers because they fully understand what they have been through
- Far South Coast RFS district manager - Angus Barnes
The generous $20,026 grant awarded to the Far South Coast RFS team through FRRR's Volunteer Emergency Services Fund (VESF) program, will allow Fire Shed Friday events to be delivered in multiple places across the Eurobodalla and Bega Valley Shires.
"The funding was really quite generous and it will give us the chance to run multiple events rather than running one or two," Mr Barnes said.
"So rather than run a couple of big events centrally, we will be able to take the project and deliver it up and down the coast."
Burragate Brigade also receives generous FRRR grant
The Far South Coast RFS team weren't the only ones who received generous funding from FRRR's VESF program, the Burragate RFS team also received a major grant, that would assist them in upgrading their fire shed.
The $23,710 grant will be put towards roof insulation in the Burragate fire shed.
The Burragate team said the newly insulated shed would help boost volunteer vitality and comfort.
Natalie Egleton, FRRR's CEO, said that the VESF program was important for dedicating funding to local initiatives that are a priority of volunteer first-responders.
"Programs like this are vital for fire-affected communities to ensure long-term resilience and preparedness," she said.