More than 80 residents in Blackheath and Mt Victoria have volunteered to help their neighbours prepare for fire and other emergencies.
The HUFF program (Heads Up For Fire and other emergencies) has enlisted locals to engage with those in their own street, to find out who might need help, anything from clearing yards and gutters to making a fire plan or deciding whether to stay or leave in an emergency.
HUFF's co-ordinators, Mina Howard and Emily Hamon, put out the call earlier this year to find a representative of every street in the two villages.
The more than 80 people who responded have been through an induction course and will now visit everyone in their street, getting to know their neighbours and their particular situations.
The idea is to both get to know them but, more importantly, to discover whether there are vulnerable people, perhaps living alone or with mobility issues, medical conditions or young children. Other relevant information, such as who might have a generator if the power goes - anything that might be useful in an emergency.
The facilitators will also get contact details to ensure that the latest information is easily communicated when emergencies arise.
Mrs Howard said she came up with the HUFF plan after the big windstorm of July 2011 caused such havoc in the Upper Mountains towns and left many without power for almost a week in the middle of a cold winter.
There were also unseasonal snowstorms in October 2012 and 2014 as well as the destructive bushfire of 2013.
"I'm really happy with the response," she said. "While I'm still disappointed that there are lots of streets without [facilitators], I'm hoping that it will catch on and other people will come on board."
There will be another meeting in November-December to get feedback from the facilitators and to share stories. Mrs Howard has also compiled a newsletter which will be emailed monthly.
The Cyber Shed, Blackheath's neighbourhood centre's digital literacy project, is also helping, offering free scanning clinics to teach people how to scan critical documents and precious photos to USB sticks for safekeeping from disasters. The next dates are Friday October 30 and Saturday October 31. Bookings on 0458 099 001.
The Cyber Shed is also seeking funds to develop "Twitter for Disasters", a course on the passive use of Twitter on mobile devices during emergencies.
HUFF has been funded by a grant from the community resilience and innovation program, part of the NSW Department of Police and Emergency Services.
