The Nymagee Rural Fire Brigade will share in an estimated $1.73-million dollars worth of equipment being delivered across the state to Rural Fire Brigades, Support Brigades and Districts.
The Far West, North West and Barwon Darling Zone Brigades and Support Brigades shared in over $104,000 worth of new items with the Nymagee brigade to receive a lawn mower and portable fridge and cover.
The portable fridge can be installed in a brigade tanker to carry cold drinks on the road and with members sometimes required to be out at an emergency for 13 or 14 hours at a time, having cold drinks available is vital to their welfare.
A lawn mower will help the brigade members keep the area around their shed tidy.
RFSA Acting President Ken Middleton said the NSW RFSA Grant Scheme was a highly valued support service offered by the association and applications were received in the 2015 grant scheme from many new brigades who had not applied previously which would enhance the ability of the brigades to operate.
“The quality of the support and training equipment has been improved over recent years as more of the brigades are provided with items which are not covered by direct government and council funding.
“The grant scheme offers a means of financial assistance to ensure the men and woman of the NSW Rural Fire Service have access to items and equipment that make performing their duties just that little bit easier,” Mr Middleton said.
“These are volunteer members who give up their time to help their community during a time of greatest need and it is wonderful that we can support them while they are supporting us.
“Many of these brigades would not be able to fundraise to gain this equipment because of their locations within NSW but many of the brigades help other communities during bushfire and other emergencies,” he said.
Funding for the grants comes from the proceeds of the NSW RFSA raffles run over the past year.
