Terry Hie Hie Community Hall has recently been repaired to improve its resistance to bushfires.
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The hall is now one of almost 1000 Neighbourhood Safer Places across NSW that provide a suitable place to go as a last resort for shelter during a bushfire.
"It's a site people can go to if they've got a bushfire hot on their heels and their survival plan fails," NSW Royal Fire Service (RFS) community project planning officer Daniel Gibson said.
The work on the hall begun in July and was finished in August and included:
- Replacement of all four doors with solid core steel clad units fitted with new locks and crash exit bars on the two sets of main double doors
- Replacement of the entire external row of rotted timber supporting piers with adjustable steel piers set on concrete footings and packing of the remainder of underfloor supporting piers
- Screening of the entire underfloor area with high strength stainless steel mesh
- Replacement of broken windows and screening of all glass with standard grade metal mesh
- Replacement of all guttering, barge boards and flashings
- Sealing gaps under the eaves
- Fixing of loose cladding
- Fitting a 20,000 litre water tank for fighting
"We tried to do this work to stop the embers getting in and under," Mr Gibson said.
"We've also put a water tank in so there's water for the brigade."
The Neighbourhood Safer Places program is administered by the NSW RFS and is a result of recommendations from the 2009 Victorian Bushfire Royal Commission.
The work was conducted by local contractor B&F Gartshore for a cost of $94,000 which was funded from the Neighbourhood Safer Places Enhancement Fund.