Members of the Bendigo SES are hoping a busy weekend in the city will help their fundraising efforts.
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The crews are set up at Alexandra Fountain as part of their biannual fundraiser to raise money for new equipment.
Bendigo SES unit controller Jason Hague said as well as new equipment, the funds would help keep the unit running.
"We have lots of expenses but the equipment is primarily what we're looking for," he said.
"We are looking at getting a couple of different things but we would like a (new) stretcher used to carry people out of the bush.
"Traditionally we have six people on a stretcher and are carrying it together but with this (stretcher) you can set it up as a big cart and put a stretcher on it to wheel someone out."
The crews are hoping a weekend that features a farmers market, a historic car display in hte amll and the Bendigo Blues and Roots Music Festival will help fill their tins a little more.
"The blues and roots festival should be good. We usually always work the swap meet weekend but another group booked in for it, so we thought we would try this weekend instead.
"The amount we raise can vary a lot sometimes it's as much as $13,000 or $14,000 thousands, other times it's about $8000 it depends on the day and the traffic.
"But we don't have a set target, it's just however much we can make."
Mr Hague said during the course of their fundraising effort, people would often tell them stories of how the SES has helped them.
"The people of Bendigo are amazing, they really are," he siad. "They always have a smile and are happy to put their hands it their pockets to support us.
"It's great when people greet us with a smile, they thank us for the work we do and are happy to tell us their stories. This morning a guy told us about the tree that fell on his roof and how we came out to cut up and temporarily repaired the roof.
"He gave us a bunch of coins but those stories are what we're always glad to hear."
Mr Hague said other equipment that the Bendigo SES unit was hoping to upgrade equipment used to remove fallen trees.
"We are always looking for things like chainsaws," he said. "As they age become difficult to start and we use them quite regularly, about 80 per cent of our work is around trees, that means we are using chainsaws all the time.
"October and November is traditionally quite busy. We get flash storms coming in so it is a busier time for us but so far this year it has not been too bad.
"Wind can take trees down and trees over roads are always a priority for us but we'd always rather cut up a tree than cut a person out of a car."
Mr Hague urged people to take care as the holiday season approaches.
"Heading into the Christmas season, people need to be careful in their cars," he said.
"The last thing we want to be doing is seeing them in (a dangerous) circumstance. So keep your speed down, stay off your phones while driving and concentrate.
"Victoria Police, the TAC and us are are always talking about driving safe. The road toll is over the top this year, we just want everyone to have a good, safe Christmas and not make the road any worse than what it is."