The South Australian Country Fire Service (CFS) comprises highly trained emergency volunteers who freely give their time to protect others in the community.
Some 13,500 firefighters, cadets and support personnel provide the fabric of "service to the community", offering firefighting, rescue and hazardous material response to regional and rural South Australia.
The CFS Foundation was formed in 2000 to accept donations from the public and make grants to CFS volunteers who have experienced distress or hardship as a consequence of their CFS activities. The CFS Foundation - helping those who help the community.
CFS volunteers seek no contribution for their efforts, and in most cases, volunteers contribute more than just their time.
Volunteers have suffered loss during large fires, along with other members of the community, and the CFS Foundation facilitates the distribution of donations from members of the public, corporate citizens and other contributors to those who have suffered distress whilst protecting others in the community.
Two families who lost their CFS volunteer husbands/fathers while firefighting in late 2014 received immediate help from the Foundation, with ongoing support available.
The Sampson Flat and Pinery fires (in January and November 2015) devastated their communities, including 6 CFS families who lost their homes in these fires.
One of those families were David and Rachel Ireland and their 4 children who, in a cruel twist of fate the fire that David was helping fight, ended up taking their family home. To add to their heartache, the home of David’s step-mum and her husband who just happened to live next door was also destroyed in the fire.
The CFS Foundation provided support and financial assistance to help Rachel and David start to rebuild their home. Now, 5 years on, Rachel and David are well into their recovery journey and want to “return the favour” and help the CFS Foundation raise funds to help those that will need it in the future
Key Areas of Expenditure