General News
24 February, 2026
Jacinta Ermacora visits fireground
A visit to Natimuk by Western Victoria upper house member Jacinta Ermacora gave community members impacted by the January 9 Grass Flat fires the opportunity to show her firsthand what their needs were and to experience the community spirit that had buoyed them.
"I am a big fan of getting out amongst the people," Ms Ermacora said.
"We are not just here for the good times; we are here to help when there are struggles."
For that reason, she was particularly pleased to visit the Natimuk and District Gymnastic Club and see the hard work being done by the committee and members since the fire.
"They were all action stations when I was there, pulling out all the foam that was impacted by the heat and fumes, ready for replacement," she said.
Ms Ermacora said she was impressed to learn that the gym was a major facility in the region and how important it was to the community on so many levels.
"They have 300 members and a waiting list and employ 30 part-time employees," she said.
"Their classes include adult, under-20s and a kinder gym.
"They offer a real service to the community, and I am personally going to make sure they do not slip through the cracks during this recovery phase."
Ms Ermacora said she understood the sadness the members must be feeling at seeing their club dismantled, but she hoped they would be encouraged, as she was, to see the committee making progress in rebuilding the club.
While the club rooms were not destroyed in the fire, the rear wall did suffer damage from the radiant heat, and the internals were damaged by the heat due to the nature of the materials.
Ms Ermacora said she was pleased to learn the club had been offered a hall in Horsham to hold the kinder gym classes once a week, but said they were still looking for temporary accommodation to continue their training.
The MP met with the Natimuk CFA to hear from the members who were on the fire ground on the day and was pleased to learn from them what went well on the day and what challenges they had, many of which would be expected under the conditions they faced.
It also allowed her to thank them for the amazing effort they put in under such difficult conditions.
"I think the combination of farmers and climbers in the Natimuk CFA provides such a strong knowledge of the area; it is such an extensive skill set," she said.
"For some people, there was only 15 minutes from ignition to when the fire reached them, and for others, less than an hour; it was such a fast-moving fire."
Her praise continued to the Blaze Aid team, who are working alongside property owners impacted by the fires, repairing and replacing fences.
She said she would encourage everyone needing their help to register as soon as possible.
"The reason I like to come and visit, especially at times like this, is to get the feel of what people are experiencing, what their needs are and how we can, as a government, help," Ms Ermacora said.
"Country people don't often ask for help, so by visiting I can speak with them face to face and that's a better way to find out what they need, even if they just want to talk about their experiences, because that's important too."
Ms Ermacora met with Horsham Rural City Council deputy mayor Bec Sluggett and chief executive Gail Gatt during her visit.
"I wanted to see how they were managing during this recovery process. I think temporary accommodation is a challenge at the moment,” she said.
“Of course, accommodation was an issue before the fires, so with 17 homes destroyed, accommodation is facing der even more pressure.”
Ms Ermacora praised everyone involved and said that while the losses were significant, no lives were lost, and that, in part, this is due to the message to leave early in fire-impacted areas, which has saved lives.
"We learn from all the data provided and the CFA is part of that; we can help minimise risk in the future from what we learn from that information," she said.
She acknowledged the extreme randomness of the fire, which she said would have presented additional challenges for the firefighters, making the effort everyone made on the day of the fire even more remarkable.
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