The town of Wingello has started its own community fund to help plug insurance gaps for residents affected by bushfire.
The town of Wingello has started its own community fund to help plug insurance gaps for residents affected by bushfire as part of a widespread response to the disaster no one saw coming.The Southern Highlands town of Wingello is cleaning up following a fire that hit with almost no warning on January 4The town lost 10 houses in the fire with more set to be deemed unfit to live in
Wingello General Store owner David Bruggeman and seven of his children are some of the many residents who said goodbye to their house for good late on Saturday January 4. The Currowan fire, which was burning to the south of the Southern Highlands, was gaining ground by the minute, driven by a howling 90km/h southerly wind.
Unbeknown to the Bruggeman family, after they evacuated to nearby Mittagong, the Wingello Fire Brigade had bolstered resources around the shop and nearby hall and park to defend the cornerstones of the community. "After we escaped, Mark Wilson the fire chief said 'we're not losing the shop on my watch' and he put trucks here to make sure the shop was saved," he said.Now Mr Bruggeman is helping coordinate a fund that will help deal with one of the biggest side effects of Australia's bushfire crisis — insurance.
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