Bushfire update: South Australia

17th February 2014- Salvation Army Emergency Services leave Flinders Ranges after over twenty days supporting fire crews

After receiving significant rainfall, the Bangor fire in the Flinders Ranges region has now subsided. Salvation Army Emergency Service teams (SAES) concluded their deployment at the Bangor Fire over the weekend, serving approximately 14,000 meals to fire crews in a three week period.

SAES Catering Coordinator Murray Jackson joined the emergency services team in South Australia in 1992 and says that this is the longest activation of SAES in those 22 years.

The Bangor Fire was started by a lightning strike Tuesday 14 January in the Southern Flinders Ranges. For over twenty days, more than twenty Salvation Army volunteers were on site 24/7, often working in temperatures over 45 degrees. SAES teams served breakfast, lunch and dinner to fire crews and other emergency service personnel including police and government departments.

SAES crews are thankful to the local South Australian community for their support during this time.

“One lady approached in the shopping centre and asked if she could help in any way. This lady helped make sandwiches and was so inspired by the SAES that she now wants to be part of a SAES team,” said Murray Jackson.

The SAES received numerous cakes and bags packed with bottled water, cheese dips, lollies and snacks from locals in Point Pirie and Melrose. It is estimated that some 3000 of these food bags were donated at an estimated cost of $10 each.

As well as providing practical and material resources, other locals generously donated money towards food for fire crews. The Salvation Army are grateful for the support that the community provides during emergencies, allowing for The Salvation Army to extend its reach and provide more comprehensive support.
 
 
10th February 2014
Salvation Army Emergency Services teams have returned to fires in the Adelaide Hills and in Bangor (Flinders Ranges) after extreme weather conditions caused fires to flare up again over the weekend. The Salvation Army is committed to supporting fire crews with meals and refreshments until the blazes are under control.

Warwick Wilson, Salvation Army Emergency Services Territorial Coordinator said on Sunday “Words are inadequate to describe the dedication of our workers in support of the community at this time again working in extreme heat.”
 
 
7th February 2014
One SAES team has just returned from an 18 day deployment supporting emergency crews fighting fires in the Flinders Ranges. This is probably the longest deployment ever undertaken by a Salvation Army team. Other SAES teams are also providing material and pastoral support on site at multiple fires in the South Australia region.

SAES teams are also supporting emergency workers attending to significant storm damage in the Adelaide area. At its worst, over 90 000 residents were without electricity with many thousands still without services primarily in the Adelaide foothills and northeast suburbs
 
 
23rd January 2014
South Australia’s Salvation Army Emergency Services teams have responded to fires throughout January in Delamere, Rockleigh, the Barossa Valley and Bangor, in the Southern Flinders Ranges.

About 50 Salvation Army personnel have been on sites providing almost 10,000 meals plus snack packs to the Country Fire Service and other emergency agencies such as the police and State Emergency Services.