The $56,000 sign is the brainchild of Candice Matalone, the Tilligerry brigade's only active female firefighter whose roles also include community engagement officer, social media officer and call officer.

The funding was made available through the State Community Building Partnership grant ($43,000) through the support State MP Kate Washington, RFS Lower Hunter Fire Control ($3000) through the support of Dave Millsteed of the Lower Hunter office, and the Tilligerry brigade (approximately $9000-$11,000).

"This peninsula has only one road in and one road out and the bad winter fires and the extreme flooding that the Tilligerry community endured made life difficult for many residents," Ms Matalone said.

"I have witnessed for quite some years now what this community has gone through, and I have been able to assess what they may need or require to help in these situations in the future - that is to be able to communicate with the entire community.

"Not everyone has access to social media. I wanted to do whatever was possible to help my town in these difficult situations and I believed that the electronic board was the answer."

Ms Matalone said that its has been a two-year journey from the day she came up with the idea to the day the sign was installed and operating.

"The time delay was mainly due to applying and receiving the grants and to find the best sign company to work with on the project. The sign is double sided and visible when travelling in and out of the town."

She said that the signage could be used for community education and public messaging from the NSW RFS to Tilligerry residents and visitors.

"It provides information to the community on issues such as road closures, fire danger ratings, new recruitment and much more."

A launch was conducted at the Tilligerry RFS centre last Saturday, attended by Ms Washington, Chief Superintendent Jayson McKellar (RFS area operations) and central ward councillors Jason Wells and Steve Tucker.

Ms Washington said that she was pleased to support the important community project with $43,000 in grant funding.

"In times of emergency, this sign will be invaluable to local residents - with information about fire ratings, weather warnings, road closures and evacuation points. Congratulations to the Tilligerry RFS leadership team who drove this project from an idea to a reality."

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content: