Rural Fire Brigades in the Blue Mountains have received a boost from the delivery of three new appliances, worth a combined $1.1 million, ahead of the official Bush Fire Danger Period beginning on 1 October.

Minister for Emergency Services and Resilience Steph Cooke joined Rural Fire Service (RFS) staff and volunteers at Katoomba to hand over the keys to Category 1 tankers for the Blaxland, Hazelbrook and Lawson Brigades.

Cook said: “Each of these appliances, worth $385,000, will assist our volunteers in providing an even greater level of fire protection to the local community.

“The Blaxland, Hazelbrook and Lawson Brigades are very active and do a wonderful job protecting people and property in one of our State’s most bush fire prone areas, as well as responding to building fires, vehicle accidents, and storm and flood responses.

“I am confident the new state-of-the-art appliances will prove to be invaluable assets, ensuring volunteers have access to modern firefighting technology when responding to fires and other incidents.”

RFS Acting District Manager, Inspector Rob Vinzenz, said the efforts of volunteers do not go unnoticed and the new Category 1 tankers will support their work: “The men and women of the RFS remain on-hand 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and we should be extremely proud and grateful for their contribution.”

Since the 2019-20 Black Summer bush fires, the NSW Government has funded more than 400 fire trucks for RFS Brigades across the State.