Parliamentary Secretary for the Hunter Scot MacDonald MLC announced the funds and was quick to add, there’s “no room for complacency”.

“The next fire season will roll around soon enough and this funding will help our community prepare in the lead up to next season,” he said.

The money will be divided between maintenance on the Tongue Trail and Tank Trail – running from Stockton to Salt Ash.

It should serve as a timely reminder, Mr MacDonald said, to have a bushfire survival plan.

“You can never be too prepared,” he said.

“When a bushfire strikes you need to have a plan, it could be the difference between saving your property and more importantly your life.”

Minister for Emergency Services Troy Grant said the funding investment has been made to help give the local community the capability to safely respond to future bushfires.

“In this round of bushfire mitigation funding, the Government has prioritised maintenance works on fire trails in some of the state’s most difficult to access areas,” Mr Grant said.

“Our firefighters need to be able to get to the fires before they reach properties and threaten lives, and the best way to ensure they can do this is to have a properly maintained network of fire trails.”

The fire trail funding has been provided under the Commonwealth’s $15 million National Bushfire Mitigation Programme, $4 million of which has been made to NSW.

For further information on bushfire preparation visit www.rfs.nsw.gov.au/resources/bush-fire-survival-plan.