Hosing down child abuse silences

Five-year-old East Woonona boy Hugh Morgan with Mal Warren of Bulli Fire Brigade.

THE men of Bulli Fire Brigade visited Bulli Children's Centre on Tuesday September 4 to teach the children some basic ideas that could one day save the life of them or their family.

Senior Fireman at Bulli station Scott Downey gave a talk to the youngsters about fire safety and the differences between 'good fires' and ‘bad fires'.

“A little boy playing with matches is a bad fire,” Mr Downey said.

“But candles on a birthday cake is good fire.”

Mr Downey also taught the children to call 000 in an emergency and to be careful in the kitchen at home, along with the tried and tested old slogans like 'get down low and go, go, go'.

“(We also taught them) not to be scared of us, and if there is a fire or there is any problem at all to drop in at the Fire Station,” Mr Downey said.

The service director of Bulli Children's Centre Meikell McCreadie said the Fire Brigade's visit was requested by the children.

The session, which also included letting the children use a fire truck as a playground (with a child accidentally setting off the siren every few minutes) and turns on a real fire hose, was one of many events planned across the Illawarra to mark National Child Protection Week.

Children and staff at Bulli Children's Centre all wore white clothes on the day, displayed white balloons and ate white food to mark National White Balloon Day.

The day is a nation-wide initiative aimed at showing support for survivors of child sexual assault and is part of the National Child Protection Week calendar of events.

The ‘white balloon’ was adopted by Bravehearts in 1997 as a symbol of support for survivors of child sexual abuse.

It arose following a public meeting in Belgium in 1996 when 300,000 people gathered with white balloons to show public sympathy and support for the parents of a number of girls who fell victim to paedophile Marc Dutroux.

This year’s event had a "Grassroots" theme, with local councils invited to participate.

Local service groups, pre schools, day care centres and schools were also encouraged to take part.