Salvo volunteers rise to the occasion during Victorian fires
Salvo volunteers rise to the occasion during Victorian fires
20 March 2018
Darren White and Scott Collins loaded the truck bound for areas impacted by the fires with air beds, towels, blankets and personal hygiene kits.
At least 18 homes, numerous outbuildings and hundreds of livestock were lost in devastating fires in south-west Victoria last weekend. More than 40,000 hectares of farming land was damaged, with about 280 firefighters and 29 aircraft continuing to battle the blazes on Sunday. An estimated 800 people reported to relief centres, forced to flee the fast-moving fires fanned by strong winds.
Darren White, The Salvation Army’s emergency services coordinator (western region) answered his phone at 11.30pm on Saturday (17 March). It was a representative from the state government’s Department of Health and Human Services asking for material aid for the bushfire evacuation centre in Warrnambool.
Darren, with driver Scott Collins, loaded their truck with 300 air beds, towels, blankets and personal hygiene kits from the emergency services warehouse in Ballarat, then started the 90-minute drive down the highway.
“From that initial call there were several changes of plan,” Darren said. “We delivered bedding to the relief centre in Camperdown and were supposed to go to Cobden, but were diverted to Colac because it was too dangerous.
“Then they closed the highway, so we took what I call the ‘scenic route’ to Warrnambool, arriving there at 6.15am.”
The men arrived back in Ballarat at 3.30pm Sunday afternoon, having worked on just an hour or two’s sleep since their departure the day before.
“When you volunteer in this space, you expect that,” Darren said. 
Warrnambool Corps also swung into action late on Saturday night. The corps’ thrift shop manager, Leanne Atkinson (pictured right), phoned to check on relatives living in nearby fire-threatened Terang to find residents from there and Garvoc and Hawkesdale were being evacuated to Warrnambool’s basketball stadium.
Corps Officer Major Peter Wood said Leanne mobilised corps members to take mattresses and bedding to the centre to help with the initial evacuation. Around 20 volunteers worked during the night and following day to give practical assistance in the wake of the disaster.
“Our people really rose to the occasion; they’ve been great, really going above and beyond to help the community,” Peter said.
“On Sunday our volunteers opened the thrift shop to provide clothing to people at the evacuation centre as well as being a distribution point to take in donations of blankets, towels and sheets.
“We’re now in the process of helping people in the recovery phase.”
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