WALLARAH 2 Community Foundation is providing cool relief for a hard-working rural fire service brigade who are anticipating a hot and busy summer.
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The mining company has donated almost $3000 to Tuggerah Rural Fire Brigade for the purchase of specialised refrigeration units.
The brigade's senior deputy captain, Matt Horwood, said the donation would make a real difference to the group's volunteers.
"The funding will allow for the purchase of two Engel fridge-freezer units, including storage bags and a slide-out drawer to be mounted on the brigade's two fire trucks, to provide cool drinking water for our volunteer firefighters," Deputy Captain Horwood said.
"The purchase of this equipment from a local supplier on the Central Coast will directly support our 30 volunteer firefighters while they are working hard to protect the community."
The brigade provides a volunteer emergency fire service across the Central Coast.
The brigade attends a wide variety of emergencies including bush fires, structural fires, motor vehicle fires and collisions, and storm incidents.
They attend an emergency call, on average, every one to two days.
Peter Smith, the environment and community manager at Wyong Coal, said the brigade relied on donations and community grants to purchase additional items to assist the firefighters.
"This is where the Wallarah 2 Community Foundation comes in," he said.
"We are proud to continue our support for rural fire brigades in the local area. This helps these brigades to have up-to-date equipment so as to best assist these hard-working volunteers."
Support for Wyee, too
WALLARAH 2 Community Foundation also recently donated $3000 to provide some much-needed storage for bulky gear at the new Wyee Rural Fire Station.
"Our brigade has just received a brand new fire station which is outstanding in design and function," Wyee Rural Fire Brigade vice-president Rob Sawyer said.
"While we have excellent facilities in the new station, we are unable to store extremely bulky equipment like spare hose reels, emergency spill kits, and additional firefighting equipment in our station's storeroom.
"The project we plan for this grant is a new storage facility installed alongside our new station. This would be a secure and accessible home for this bulky gear."
Wyee Rural Fire Brigade has served the local area for almost 60 years, responding to emergencies and taking part in community education events.
"The brigade has saved many lives and much property in the course of their work," Wyong Coal general manager Peter Allonby said.
"The brigade crew are all local residents of Wyee and nearby towns. They comprise men and women from teenagers to senior citizens.
"Many are active members who operate the firefighting appliances while others work in support, fundraising at Bunnings barbecues, or preparing food for crews on the fire ground.
"It was evident from our visit to Wyee fire station that this is a very dedicated and proud group of volunteers and we are very happy to help them serve their community better," Mr Allonby said.