Staff and inmates at John Morony Correctional Centre in western Sydney are constructing specialised 300kg doors to help NSW Fire and Rescue and the NSW Police Bomb Squad train for real-life emergencies.
The resettable doors – designed by NSW Fire and Rescue and named “62Red” – allow emergency crews to repeatedly practice various forced entry techniques without having to replace the door after each drill.
Minister for Corrections Geoff Lee said Corrective Services Industries staff designed an engineering program to allow inmates to build the doors in workshops in the prison.
“The program provides training for inmates and employable skills for inmates to use when they are released,” Mr Lee said.
“They are learning welding, fabrication, interpretation of highly-technical drawings and gaining an appreciation of how their work ultimately helps protect our communities.”
Corrective Services NSW Commissioner Kevin Corcoran PSM said the program allowed up to 60 inmates to upskill before leaving prison.
“Inmates are learning how the various parts are manufactured, powder coated and assembled, and leaving our custody with a skillset they didn’t have before,” Mr Corcoran said.
“Inmates have a sense of achievement and pride in their work when they see something they’ve manufactured, from a raw material to a finished, sellable product.”
CSNSW senior engineering overseers analysed technical drawings from Fire and Rescue NSW and following close consultation, five prototype doors were built and tested.
Fire and Rescue NSW tested the doors and were so impressed by their quality, the green light was given to manufacture more.
The 62Red program has now attracted orders from various emergency management agencies across NSW and the country, including:
• 18x doors for Fire and Rescue NSW2x doors for NSW Ambulance
• 1x door for NSW Police Bomb Squad
• 10x doors for WA Department of Fire and Emergency Services
• 3x doors for Queensland Fire and Emergency Services
• 2x doors for NT Fire and Rescue Service
• 3 x doors Fire Rescue Victoria
• 1x door Southern Highlands Rural Fire Service
• 1 x door Lithgow Rural Fire Service
• 1 x door Maitland Rural Fire Service
• 5x doors for CSNSW Security Operations Group
