Captain of the Potato Point Fire Brigade, Geoff Radcliffe said Bodalla RFS had invited the Potato Point group to join them for their Get Ready weekend because Potato Point was on a dead end road and virtually all the permanent residents of Potato Point were members of the RFS.

“We are hoping that some people will call in to have a look at our equipment and the information provided, but even more so to talk about fire safety,” he said.

Captain Radcliffe said the brigades have been going down and fighting the Yankee’s Gap fire now for about four weeks.

“Every second day we go down, so we know how bad it is.

“On Saturday night when it broke out, it was spotting 10 kilometres away from the main fire.

“People need to be aware that even though we’re sitting here and there’s no fire, something could come from 10 kilometres away and their house could be on fire.

“It’s important to make sure your house is clear, garden mulch and rubbish around your yards should be cleared,” he said.

“We went to the Tathra fire in March and virtually all the houses that burnt were from spotting from about a kilometer from the edge of the fire, igniting garden mulch, wood chips, verandas and things.

“The vast majority of people that stayed saved their homes because they could put out the spot fires.

“You can’t expect a big red fire engine to be in front of your house and putting it out for you.

“The big thing is that people need to be able to look after themselves, because we just don’t have the resources, which is evident when go down to the Bega Valley and see the destruction there and at Tathra,” he said.

Get Ready and prepare for a bushfire is on at Bodalla again tomorroiw from 9am to 4pm and also at the Narooma Rural Fire Station.

Having a plan in place could save your home.