New CFA station officially opens

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New CFA station officially opens

AFTER 13 years of waiting, the new Leongatha CFA station is now open.

The station has been fully operational since last Tuesday (January 13).

CFA members helped moved the last of their equipment – including the trucks – into the station last Tuesday night.

“The move went well,” Leongatha CFA captain Tristan Morton-Pedersen said.

“We’ve had access to the building for the past few weeks so we were able to move the rest of the equipment and turn out gear in quickly.”

The CFA has come full circle, constructing a building on the same site as the original CFA station.

“The CFA has had four homes in Leongatha now,” Leongatha CFA secretary Gary Burns said.

“We’ve come back to the start, give or take a few metres.”

The new station is a great improvement compared to their facility in Anderson Street, which was built in 1932.

The land on Bair Street was purchased in 2007, six years after the CFA decided to build a new station.

“It’s been a lot of work and a long time coming,” Mr Morton-Pedersen said.

“The construction was the quickest and easiest part.”

The state of the art building allows for a technological advantage firefighters did not have before.

The space in the new building is an ideal working environment. Their new local command facility is double the size and members feel it is safer in the station with extra room.

“It’s also safer because members can park on site,” CFA operations officer Bill Alards said.

“We used to have to dodge the traffic along the highway.”

Traffic lights and new road markings will make traffic management safer on Bair Street.

“The new lights are really bright,” Mr Burns said.

“They bring some life back into the town. This end of town is looking good now with the new station and the new Salvation Army building.”

CFA members have occasionally seen people park their cars across the station’s driveway while waiting to get into the service station. Members urge drivers to be aware and not obstruct the driveway.

“People need to be aware that it’s an active station,” Mr Alards said.

“It’s not just about the trucks getting out; it’s also about letting firefighters in when they are trying to respond to a call.”

Mr Morton – Pedersen said unlike the old station, the new station does not leak and members now have training facilities. They used to train three or four kilometres out of town at football grounds, creeks and in streets that are not heavily used.

“We will still use these areas but the majority of the training can be done on site,” Mr Alards said.

The station is well equipped with a custom turn-out computer, which gives the CFA members a description about the call they are responding to.

This information includes an address, what the incident is, a printed map and spoken directions as they are pulling out of the station.

A PA system has been installed so members can keep an ear out on what’s happening.

There is a special room for maintenance of the breathing apparatuses and a drying room in case members’ uniforms get wet during jobs. They also now have a shower facility.

“The security is much better now as well,” Mr Burns said.

Mr Morton-Pedersen said the new station was not just a huge asset for the CFA, but also for the community.

“This was a fully local project,” he said.

“The contractors across the road (Considine and Johnston) constructed the building and a lot of our supplies were bought locally, right down to cups, plates, furniture and televisions. The only time we went to outside sources was for the technology.”

The new location on Bair Street has helped to increase the CFA’s profile.

“We’ve had an increased number of enquiries from people looking to join the CFA,” Mr Morton-Pedersen said.

“From here people are able to see what we do and it makes a significant difference.”

The old station will be offered for public tender. The infrastructure includes a tower for mobile phones and the building’s fate depends on lease arrangements.

Mr Morton-Pedersen said members are relieved and ecstatic to have finally moved in.

“All the hard work has finally paid off. It’s very exciting,” he said.

 

New station: Leongatha CFA secretary Gary Burns reveals the new CFA building located on Bair Street, which officially started operating last Tuesday (January 13).

New station: Leongatha CFA secretary Gary Burns reveals the new CFA building located on Bair Street, which officially started operating last Tuesday (January 13).

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Posted by on Jan 20 2015. Filed under Featured, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

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