The Year Eight cohort visited the Perth Hills Discovery Centre on Friday April 23. First, we split into two large groups, and were allocated two leaders each. Our wonderful guides were Bec and Jos (Group 1) and Naomi and Mr C (Group 2). We completed four different activities, and learnt lots of things about fire along the way which included a scavenger hunt (we were given a bag full of equipment including an iPad to complete certain tasks), fieldwork(which required us to investigate a burnt and untouched site via various instruments), a lecture on the role of DFES (Department of Fires and Emergency Services) and the use of PPE (Personal Protection Equipment) during fire fighting. The relay race where members of the team took turns to dress up a nominated fire fighter was fun.
The final activity, Fire response and decisions, not only required us to apply information we have learnt but also to plan and react to a fire using maps of the location; the weather conditions; the wind direction; the surrounding location (water access, road access, surrounding houses and places); the alert systems available to send out and to whom; the fuel ages and all the resources available to help fight fire.
Overall, we had an educational and engaging time learning all about fires, the benefits and disadvantages of them and the people that control, fight and take advantage of them.
By Aliyah Lockwood, Thea Hartono and Elisabeth Hellbusch