A FREE one-off program, called AIDER (assist infirm, disabled and elderly residents) can help protect at-risk residents living in areas prone to bushfire by carrying out basic maintenance around their properties.
Superintendent Mark Williams said NSW Rural Fire Service crews had helped maintain over 36 properties in the Shoalhaven.
“This means those properties have more chance of withstanding a bushfire,” he said.
Services provided by the NSW RFS crews may include cleaning gutters, mowing or slashing long grass and trimming overhanging branches around the home.
“There are many people in communities across NSW who are unable to carry out this type of manual work around their house and garden, leaving their properties at greater risk from the threat of bushfire,” Superintendent Williams said.
NSW RFS staff can assess properties, conduct maintenance work as well as provide simple and practical advice for residents putting together a Bush Fire Survival Plan.
Aged residents and those with disabling conditions who have limited domestic support from family, relatives, friends or other services are all eligible to apply.
For more information visit www.rfs.nsw.gov.au or phone 8741 4955 for a free assessment.