Thirsty firefighters on the front lines will be able to crack open a cold bottle of water for the first time in years, thanks to a donation of two van fridges from the Uranquinty Men's Shed.
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The blokes from the men's shed made the donation after Uranquinty Rural Fire Service volunteers said their old, battered Esky wasn't cutting it for them anymore.
Men's shed secretary Brian Mahoney said their members wanted to make sure the firefighters could have a cold drink after a hard day of fighting fires.
"They told us they'd been out for three days with a beaten up Esky, and that all their water was fire temperature and all the sandwiches were a soggy mess," Mr Mahoney said.
"We wanted to help them as soon as we could; these poor bastards could be called out any day."
In other news:
Wagga's firefighters have seen support pouring in from across the community, the latest one being a $1000 donation from Wafrica, the Wagga African Association.
Wafrica president Sam Avo said many Africans relied on fruitpicking work in Tarcutta, and that the donation was their way of thanking the firefighters for protecting their livelihoods.
"The bushfires have been terrible, but out of an unfortunate event we've seen something good and powerful come out of it," Mr Avo said.
"I was very pleased to see the response we saw from the community; this is a great example of full integration into Australia."
Tarcutta RFS captain Bruce Angel said the money would go a long way towards buying more safety equipment for their firetrucks.
"This is a tremendous effort and a real sign of good integration between the African community and the wider community," Mr Angel said.