More than 3500 people flocked to the first Rural Fire Service field day for the Lower Hunter on the weekend.
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The day was a chance for the community to see the RFS in action and, according to one of the organisers John Russell, the event was a big success.
“We couldn’t have asked for better weather,” he said.
“We just want to thank the community for coming out; it was a fantastic day.”
The field day at Maitland Showground was a test for the Rural Fire Service Association to see if it had the potential to become a biennial event.
Mr Russell said, thanks to the community interest, the field day would be held again in 2017.
A crowed favourite was the competition between RFS brigades, including a practice car fire.
The Bolwarra-Largs brigade won the competition and in some of the events blitzed the competition.
“They had really good team work,” Mr Russell said.
“In every event they worked so well together.”
The display of old and new tankers also saw a lot of foot traffic as visitors perused the vintage fire trucks.
The day was almost hindered by a bushfire that broke out in Salt Ash on Friday.
The fire shut down Richardson Road and spread across more than five hectares of bushland.
Mr Russell said several brigades were sent out to the blaze, which had the potential to turned into something bigger.
Thankfully, the fire was brought under control and the RFS volunteers got to enjoy their field day on Sunday.
The event also raised more than $2000 for the organisation.