The event is timed to coincide with the arrival of the cooler months, which sees a 10 per cent increase in the number of home fires. Firefighters in Mudgee opened the doors to their station invited locals to checkout the trucks and equipment. And carried out a number of demonstrations, including the fat fire simulator.

They were on hand to answer any questions about home fire safety and pass on advice, including the importance of having a working smoke alarm - changing the batteries with your clocks for daylight savings is advised - and hanging clothes at least a metre from the heater. The latter a seasonal concern, along with electric blankets that have been damaged from being folded up and stored since last winter.

A pre-Open Day promo line was "come and meet the team that's prepared for anything" and this was also demonstrated at the local station, with a number of the firies called out to attend to fuel spill mid-event.