Seven firefighters (Glenn Swift, Paul Hartley, David Moses, David Welch, Neal Swain, Brock Stone and Ben Wilkinson) along with the help of the roads and drainage crew from Gunnedah Shire Council (Mark Wells, Stephen Woodward, Robert Wells, Josh Wells and Richard Baxter)formed up pads and laid concrete for the championship track at Woolshed Reserve over the weekend.

Hansen Concrete delivered almost seven metres of concrete to the site.

“It was very generous of council staff to donate their time to help us – their support was fantastic,” Fire and Rescue NSW Gunnedah Deputy Captain Glenn Swift said.

“Hansen were also a great help and very generous.”

Deputy Captain Swift said leading up to the three-day working bee, stormwater installation with Frank Capezio had been completed.

“All that is left now is the landscaping,” Deputy Captain Swift said.

The Regional Firefighter Championships will be held in March at the Gunnedah ground  and is designed to hone the firefighting skills of the thousands of firefighters who participate each year.

Two of Gunnedah’s retained firefighters, Mark Sawyer and Ben Wilkinson, recently travelled to Kelso to compete in the State Firefighter Championships.

The duo placed 13th overall and fourth in the urban pumper and collector event.

Gunnedah finished in the top 10 in most of the events.

“Mark and Ben went really well and it was a great opportunity for Gunnedah to promote our championships in March,” Deputy Captain Swift said.

The local station has been fund-raising for the event since the beginning of 

the year.