At Mogo Training Centre recently, members of the Rural Fire Service Association (RFSA) handed over a community engagement trailer to representatives from the Eurobodalla Shire and Bega Valley Shire Rural Fire Service.

The mobile information centre, which can be towed easily by a sedan, will present the fire safety message in ways new and old for residents of all ages.

The sides open out and awnings provide shade for those viewing the videos on the big screen and for those who prefer to sit down and read all about how to reduce the risk of fire, and how to prepare for bushfires and their survival plans.

At the presentation of the trailer to Far South Coast community engagement team president Rita Smith, the RFSA Division 6 chairman, Lance Hartley, said the trailer was a welcome addition to the efforts of Eurobodalla and Bega Valley brigades to spread essential information to the public.

“The trailer will be invaluable for getting the message about fire safety to school kids, community groups and the public at large,” he said.

“With the predictions of bushfires becoming bigger and more dangerous, it is vital that the public be very aware of how to prepare for, and survive in, those conditions.”

He said the RFSA had funded the $18,700 trailer with a grant from the 2013 grants program and recipients of the 2014 funding round would be announced shortly.

“In the previous year, a large number of South Coast brigades shared in the $1million granted to brigades throughout the state.”

Schools and community groups interested in a visit from the community engagement trailer are welcome to phone their nearest fire control centre – Bega Valley on 6494 7400, or Eurobodalla on 4474 2855.