Dubbo College Senior Campus students have come to the rescue of an old piece of firefighting equipment from Cobar.
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They showed off the restored "hose cart reel" on Tuesday to Fire and Rescue NSW personnel, including Chief Superintendent Neil Harris who called it a "work of art".
About eight students spent the final six months of the 2015 school year giving the more than 100-year-old piece of equipment a new lease on life.
Head teacher of technology and applied studies at the campus, Nigel White, said they had pulled out all stops to return it to an original state.
They replaced old wooden spokes and corroded nuts, bolts and screws, peeled back layers of paint, cleaned ball bearings by hand and made brass pieces sparkle.
Mr White and his students sought advice from Fire and Rescue NSW and Dubbo business Granny's House in their bid to get it right. "Granny's House sourced for us original nuts, bolts and screws that are no longer made," the teacher said.
The 16 and 17 year olds who painstakingly delivered the rejuvenated equipment were taking part in the Skilled Program, set up for students who "don't necessarily want a traditional HSC pattern of study".
"These are kids that wouldn't normally be engaged in a lot of things at school but they were really all over this project," Mr White said.
Chief Superintendent Harris, area commander regional west, said the equipment once used to get a fire hose to the scene of a blaze belongs to Cobar Fire Station. He said in the future the hose cart reel would be placed in the town's museum along with a plaque bearing the names of the students who made it new again.
"I am absolutely stunned with the end result," Chief Superintendent Harris said.
"The workmanship of the students was incredible. The finished product is a work of art."