Melton volunteers are rolling up their sleeves to rebuild fences destroyed in the recent bushfires near Cobden – but they need more hands on deck.
Peat fires forced about 100 residents to evacuate their houses and three schools and a nursing home to relocate to escape toxic smoke as fires burned through farmland in the small town of Cobrico, between Terang and Cobden, last month.
BlazeAid Inc, an organisation that helps out after natural disasters, has led the efforts to rebuild fire-damaged properties. Police and Melton council are also extending a helping hand to the community and are calling for volunteers to join them.
Melton Senior Sergeant Simon Payne said a call-out on social media attracted 27 volunteers who travelled to Cobden this week. A second group would be assembled to make the trip on May 1.
“Police and the council came up with an idea of how we, as a semi-rural community, could assist the people down there in the country and we decided to support the BlazeAid initiative and send some volunteers along,” Senior Sergeant Payne said. “We’ve had members of the public, council workers and a few police members nominate to go down and help out.
“It’s an event that allowed people to give something to our country cousins and, hopefully the day never arrives but if it did in Melton, they would reciprocate the favour.”
Volunteers will be helping BlazeAid
and farmers to repair external fences and “hopefully help in rebuilding their lives for those who were affected by fire,” Senior Sergeant Payne said.
For more Information or to volunteer: MELTON.UNI@police.vic.gov.au
