Local pharmacy rallies behind fire brigade, raising over $7000

While it ended up a couple of thousand shy, the recently revealed $7400 collated on the day is set to make a significant impact at the local brigade.

Brigade captain Kylie Comte said there were a number of things the funds could be used for to improve operations, including the implementation of an automatic roller door.

“During the fires, we were noticing things that we needed to improve on to be able to respond to the community quicker,” she said.

“We have two sheds that have vehicles in them, and one shed we have to hop out and manually open the door, which drastically increases the time it takes to get out.

“That’s something that would be a massive help to us to respond to the community quicker.”

Store manager and business partner Surinder Saini said the idea of the fundraiser sprouted during the January bushfires, when so many wanted to give back but weren’t entirely sure how to do so.

“We wanted to do something for the community ... We knew that so many people were suffering, so that’s why we thought it would be good to do it,” she said.

Ms Saini said hosting the fundraiser was step into the unknown.

“Helping the community to build quicker, I cannot describe in words how I am feeling,” she said.

“We didn’t even know that we were going to make it up to that far or not.

“It’s going to be helpful for the community, and it came from the community.”

When the brigade first heard what the pharmacy was doing, Ms Comte said members also felt at a loss for words.

“I think we were all a bit speechless, and we thought, ‘wow, what a beautiful gesture’,” she said.

“It just shows how lucky we are to live in such a beautiful community that rallies around and just wants to help.”