November 2009 Vol. 1, Issue 10 (PDF - 16.2Mb) - Department of ...

Students write own
Xxxx
Shine
fire safety booklet
They’re too old for Captain Koala but too young for the CFA – so how
can teenagers find out how to respond in the event of an emergency?
That question is what inspired Maffra Secondary College students Jess
Bedggood, Amy Foster, Tim Liddell and Sam Montague to develop the
Teenagers in Emergencies booklet, following the 2006 bushfires and
2007 floods that affected the Gippsland region.
As teacher and CFA and State Emergency Service (SES) volunteer
David Montague explains, the students were no strangers to emergency
situations, but they saw a gap in the information available to
communities. “There wasn’t much around for teenagers,” he says. “You’ve
got stop, drop and roll and Captain Koala for primary kids and the full
fire management plan for adults, but nothing much for this age group.”
The idea behind the booklet was that teenagers could be valuable
resource during fires or floods, and that the information in the resource
could help change the outcomes of an emergency situation.
“These students have been though these emergencies, and of course
Black Saturday came and really struck home the need to have a better
informed community, for all age groups,” Mr Montague explains.
The booklet will be distributed
to all secondary aged students in
Victorian government schools.
In addition, copies of the resource
will be distributed to P-12
schools, special schools and
language schools. Mr Montague
says the students couldn’t be
happier with the outcome. “The
students are absolutely thrilled.
I’m just really proud and I think
it shows what can occur within
state education with the will to
put something that needs to
be done into action.”
To download a copy of the booklet, visit
www.education.vic.gov.au/about/bushfires/support/schools.htm
CAR LEASING