The boss of the Rural Fire Service in the Orana region warned of a Coonabarabran type bushfire catastrophe if Wellington's council didn't give $48,000 to cover the remaining costs of two new replacements tankers.

"Our volunteers are putting themselves in danger," Lyndon Weiland told councillors in an impassioned plea to get them to change their minds.

The Wellington senior manager of the RFS went further.

Peter Conn said fire tankers at the village of Mumbil and the large and rich property area of Spicers Creek were under threat because the vehicles were outdated and in a state of disrepair.

"What if a fire broke out at Mumbil and ran across to Lake Burrendong to the NSW Sports and Recreation, the Botanic Gardens ... hundreds of lives would be in danger, property would be decimated. I would hate to see the coroner's report and see the coroner assess the situation and ask the difficult questions,'' he said.

"Just think of the lives," he said

Mr Conn who received an Australia Fire Service Medal for his tireless dedication to the RFS and its community said in Mumbil elderly women were forced to drive an old tanker to fires until support could come.

"They do this with car licences. We would be abdicating our responsibilities to these people if we didn't have the right equipment to help these volunteers and of course our firefighters," he said.

Mr Conn explained the steep and inaccessible territory the larger tankers can get into and warned the 'potential losses were massive' if replacement tankers weren't able to be purchased. He also said in the longer-term windfarms which would span a large space in Bodangora and further afield would need ground based operations.

"With these windfarms coming we won't be able to use aircraft in bushfires because of the height of the turbines," he said.

Mr Weiland explained to councillors the state government had taken up a lot of the excess cost of fire fighting especially when a big fire breaks. Aircraft have become the prime fighter.

"When the big one hits its not unusual to pay $100,000 on a day," he said.

Mr Conn said Wellington Council had a duty of responsibility to deliver to its rural ratepayers who pay an emergency levy.

"What kind of message is this sending to your ratepayers. We may never been in a position to replace these tankers," Mr Weiland said.

Cr Pip Smith said money for the tankers and additional support for the VAAS (Volunteer and Statewide Support) 'was a pretty good deal'.

"Fires, lives and death when it comes down to it," she said, urging a positive decision by fellow councillors.

Cr Marcus Hanney said the council, even in a time when it faced merger, had to do it.

"This is a no brainer, it is front line machinery."

The vote was passed six to one with Cr Mark Griggs voting against the motion. The councillor was concerned the council did not have the financial resources to fund the additional money being given to the Rural Fire Service.

The Orana RFS manager Lyndon Weiland said it was a good result for the communities in the local government area of which he too was a rural ratepayer.