Spirits weren’t dampened however, with about 150 community members turning up from the town and surrounding district to commemorate the new fire station, which will service both the town and surrounding areas, in addition to the Paupong fire station.

The Dalgety fire station cost about $150,000 to build and was funded through the NSW fire fighting fund and the Snowy River Shire Council which put in 11 per cent of the total cost - $15,000. It is a large shed which can accomodate four fire trucks, with a meeting room, kitchen and toilets. It measures 25 metres by 12 metres and six metres high.

The Dalgety community and district has outgrown its previous two fire stations, the first one built in 1946 and the second one in 1981.

Well-known Dalgety identity Charlie Roberson opened the fire station.

Mr Roberson is a founding member of the Dalgety Rural Fire Brigade in 1941,

Monaro team operations officer Barry Aitchison and Snowy River Shire mayor John Cahill and Dalgety brigade captain Eric Corby gave speeches and thanked all those involved in the construction of the station.

Mr Aitchison thanked the Dalgety fire brigade captain Eric Corby and all volunteers and community for their effort and support.

The Dalgety Rural Fire Service was established in 1941 after the Stretton Royal Commission into the catastrophic 1939 NSW and Victorian fires recommended the establishment of bush fire brigades.

The 1939 Black Friday fires raged across NSW and Victoria and old timers will remember the fires burnt Paupong and nearly reached Dalgety.

The fire claimed dozens of lives in NSW and 13 lives in Victoria.

The Royal Commission, under Judge L.E.B Stretton (known as the Stretton Inquiry), attributed the fire to careless burning, such as campfires and land clearing. It made a number of recommendations such as the establishment of bush fire brigades, construction of fire towers and access trails. It also encouraged the creation of a regime of hazard reduction, which continues today.

The 1939 fires were one of the worst disasters to have occurred in Australia and the worst bushfire, up to that time, in terms of both loss of property and loss of life.