‘Emergency playdates’ aim to make fire preparedness fun
Almost four years since the black summer bushfires, communities that lived through the disaster are still recovering. Along with the physical rebuilding there's also much ongoing trauma as they now get ready for a hot, dry summer. But one local council on the New South Wales south coast is trying to help families be better prepared.
Transcript
00:00 Jaclyn Roeg still vividly remembers the Black Summer bushfires.
00:05 She was volunteering with the SES throughout the disaster and says hot, windy weather still
00:09 brings back dark memories.
00:11 You can still see it when you drive around Yirraba Dulla.
00:14 The trees still haven't all recovered.
00:17 All the houses haven't been built.
00:19 We're still not out of it yet.
00:21 She isn't alone.
00:22 For me to see families and small children completely devastated, I'm starting to tear
00:29 up now.
00:30 It just brings back so many memories for us as well.
00:36 It was just bedlam.
00:38 According to the Internal Management Displacement Centre, more than 14,000 children were displaced
00:42 during the Black Summer bushfires.
00:45 To help parents prepare for future emergencies, Yirraba Dulla Shire Council is organising
00:49 emergency playdates like this, where all the emergency services come together for an afternoon
00:55 of learning and fun.
00:57 Children learn so much faster through play experiences.
01:00 They're going to hear sirens, they're going to meet men and women in uniforms, but it's
01:07 not going to be a scary, serious activity.
01:11 She says parents can also learn a thing or two.
01:13 If you've got children, you can't just go, "Oh, I'll just grab a drink bottle and some
01:18 food and I'll be right."
01:20 You might need to bring nappies, bottles of milk, water, favourite toys, storybooks.
01:28 So we're using this to teach kids to get down low and go, go, go.
01:31 In moments of crisis, we want kids on our side and we want them to know us as a friendly
01:35 face that's there to help.
01:36 We don't want to be the scary figures, especially in times of trauma when they're quite concerned
01:40 and worried.
01:41 After six emergency playdate sessions, organisers hope the community is better prepared for
01:45 potential disasters.
01:46 We've had one today, a family, a father with a little boy who's just moved to the area
01:51 and he just said, "I am not prepared.
01:53 I need to be prepared."
01:55 That's it.
01:57 That's why we're here.
01:58 They've been so well received, parents are hoping the emergency playdates will become
02:02 an annual event.
02:03 [BLANK_AUDIO]