Fundraising
As a Brigade we often need to fundraise in order for us to upgrade equipment and improve our facilities. Here are a few of our recent and current fundraising events
The Kalgan Volunteer Bushfire Brigade is generally well serviced with trucks, equipment and uniforms from the Emergency Services Levy (ESL) as provided by DFES, however there is always a need for that extra kit not provided through the ESL funding. The Brigade has been very active in fundraising which has amongst other things resulted in a purchase of an Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) and the construction of a fast fill trailer to be utilised on the fire ground to allow trucks to fill up near to the fire rather than travelling some distance to fill. This allows for more time on the fire ground to fight the fire.
Fundraising House
A major project we are undertaking which so far is about 3 years in the making is the development of a new fire depot. Through the very generous support of the Joint Venture Partners of Oyster Harbour Estate, WA Home group, numerous tradesmen and suppliers a residence has been constructed at 23 Ballandean Avenue, Bayonet Head. This residence is now for sale through Wellington & Reeves with the net proceeds to got to the Brigade for the purpose of building a new depot. We are very excited about the future in relation to this project which we hope will provide modern facilities to include a meeting/training room, ablutions, garaging and a kitchen. We currently operate out of three old sheds ( in two different locations) with no facilities.
Final shout outs to;
Albany Independent Floors for their discounted products and labour to flooring and blinds.
Direct Lighting Albany for their donated pendant lights.
Bunnings Warehouse Australia for the fully donated deck!
Triple M Albany and Hit WA for their fully donated shout out ads on the radio!
Avenue lighting for their donated external lights
Flir Thermal Camera Fundraiser
Another fundraising project we are active with is the funding of the purchase of two Thermal Image Cameras (TIC) to allow us to detect hot spots on the fire ground that might not show up from visual inspection. These cameras will assist is the control of any flare ups post fire.
WHY do we need them you ask?
TIC’s allow us to see what the naked eye can’t. Hotspots show up as high resolution images and this helps us to safely and effectively identify and extinguish fires. TIC’s are especially useful for grass fires where the organic matter can sometimes burn for days long after the fire has passed over.