The New South Wales State Emergency Service is using roller doors donated by B&D Doors & Openers Australia to secure its precious equipment.
The Hunters Hill unit in Sydney had previously housed its equipment in a shared space that posed significant security concerns.
Established 20 years ago, Hunters Hill remains one of the Service's youngest. Controller Mark Pittaway said the unit started out with three members and no dedicated facilities, yet has since expanded through dedication.
"About 15 years ago we were given a building located in Gladesville Hospital but it was originally built in 1860s as a psychiatric asylum and had last been used in the 1970s. Everything was dated and we inherited it, as is," he said.
"We now have 35 to 40 members on the books. As we've grown, we've managed to bring our facilities up to standard to include offices, training rooms and kitchen. However, our stores area was still part of the overall internal building envelope and part of a large unsecured area."
Being part of the hospital grounds, the unit had secure perimeter gates but was still potentially exposed. As the unit accumulated more equipment, the need to properly secure a store area grew.
"We already used a B&D Roll-A-Door on our main entrance at the front, but the building is quite long and the same level of security wasn't provisioned for the building's rear. It's basically just a big, open room and on training nights almost everyone is out on the grounds while the main door is often left open."
The unit devised a plan to partition its stores area from the main training area. It considered using a plasterboard wall but the material's porousness and limited size of door access led it to instead use a roller door.
As a volunteer service, the SES receives some government funding but is still reliant on community goodwill, fundraising and donations.
When the unit decided that a roller door would be its best solution, it thought to approach B&D Doors Australia. "When we spoke with B&D they were really receptive," he said. "Once we knew the dimensions of the area, B&D built two Roll-A-Doors to our exact specifications."
B&D Doors national sales & marketing manager John Fraser-Mifsud said the company thought it was important to donate to a deserving cause. "Like orange-clad SES volunteers, B&D Doors are Australian icons. We recognise the enormously important and generous contributions they make and we are only too happy to support them."
The three metre-high by 2.4 metre-wide Roll-A-Doors are now positioned side-by-side to secure the stores area.
"It's made a huge difference for us because we have a large amount of very expensive gear in there, including fuel, power and lighting systems, and vertical rescue equipment," said Mr Pittaway.
