BlazeAid is a volunteer-based organisation that works with families and individuals in rural Australia after natural disasters such as fires, cyclones, droughts and floods.

Working alongside the rural families, our volunteers help to rebuild fences and other structures that have been damaged or destroyed.

BlazeAid was established in 2009 by Kevin and Rhonda Butler after the Black Saturday bushfires. They had approximately 3 kilometres of fencing burnt on their property, allowing hundreds of sheep to get out onto the roads, causing a traffic hazard and impeding fire trucks and other emergency service vehicles from continuing their fire response.

The repairs to their fences were expected to have taken the Butlers around 3 to 4 months, however, Kevin put an advert in the local paper requesting assistance. He had a wonderful response from the community, with around 25 volunteers coming to help, and the fences were rebuilt within a week.

It was Rhonda’s idea to pay the favour forward, saying, “We have had help, now let’s give our neighbours a hand too.” And, BlazeAid was born!

BlazeAid’s Core Foundations are:

• Honesty: BlazeAid values transparency and straightforwardness in all their interactions.
• Transparency: BlazeAid believes in open communication and clear information.
• Trust: BlazeAid’s goal is to build trust with the community and volunteers is essential.
• Empathy: BlazeAid understands the emotional impact of disasters and approach their work with compassion.
• Integrity: BlazeAid upholds strong moral principles and ethical conduct.

BlazeAid’s purpose is to relieve the poverty, suffering, distress, misfortune, destitution or helplessness experienced by survivors of bushfires and other natural disasters.

During the first year, volunteers worked out of the Butler’s shearing shed, their farm becoming somewhat of a tent city filled with people and their vans from all over the country (and the world). The camp ran for 11 months, where they cleared 500 kilometers of burnt fences and rebuilt an additional 500 kilometers. BlazeAid has responded to natural disasters every year since 2009.

It costs around $5,000 per week to run a base camp. All money spent to feed volunteers 3 meals per day, maintain assets such as vehicles and replace tools, goes back into the local community. The bread is purchased from the local bakery, the groceries are bought from the local IGA or supermarket, fuel is acquired at the town service station. Up to $500,000 per base camp is pushed back into the community, where businesses often struggle from lack of tourism and visitors.

BlazeAid values strength of community. Farmer’s Nights are held on a weekly basis, giving the community a chance to come together, debrief and share a meal and build connections so that after BlazeAid has left, the relationships between residents and community remain.

During the 2019/20 mega fires, BlazeAid set up 45 camps around the country to help rebuild. In many areas, the fires were so intense that they scorched the ground so significantly that native grasses and perennials were unable to grow. BlazeAid successfully trialed a project as part of the rebuild called the Grass-seeds Reestablishment After Fires Funding Initiative (GRAFFI), teaching and supplying farmers with native trees and grasses to regenerate their lands and assist in the future prevention of erosion. This project is now embedded within the BlazeAid structure of disaster response.

The BlazeAid camp was recently at Goroke and has now shifted to Nhill Showground on Friday with a group of 40 to 50 volunteers. Last week BlazeAid moved into Nhill and set up camp to be closer to help after the destructive fires in the Little Desert. Volunteers have driven to Nhill from many places to be part of the large team working at clearing areas, build fences and do whatever is needed.

Bill Coe from the Lions Club of Merino Digby is a volunteer working with these wonderful people who have given up their time to assist. The Lions Club of Nhill members were asked to help and have already assisted with numerous BlazeAid needs.

This article appeared in Nhill Free Press & Kaniva Times, 26 March 2025.