CFA will build a brand new fire station in Morwell by the end of 2019, replacing the existing station on McDonald Street.
Three parcels of land measuring a total of 7,242 square metres has been purchased to build the new integrated fire station with plenty of space for training and shared facilities for volunteers and career staff.
Situated on a large block of land on the corner of Princes Drive and Collins Street in Morwell, the new station will provide firefighters with the latest facilities to respond to and recover from emergency incidents around the clock.
Morwell Officer-In-Charge Chris Loeschenkohl said volunteer and career firefighters have been turning out to around 850 incidents a year from the current fire station, which is 14 years old. The brigade has outgrown its existing station, which is a refurbished ambulance station.
“The brigade has continued to grow with more volunteers and career staff in order to meet community need, so we’re looking forward to having more space for training and incident preparation and recovery in the larger, more modern station,” Mr Loeschenkohl said.
“It’s a great boost for the community to have a state-of-the-art facility in Morwell, which will be able to be used for community safety briefings and educational sessions for schools and other groups.
“The new fire station will have a fully-fitted kitchen, dining area and meeting rooms as well as a specialist rope rescue training gantry for our firefighters to have everything they need for response, recovery and training. We will shop locally as much as we can to purchase a range of items required for the operation of the station."
The major infrastructure development is part of CFA’s 350 Firefighter Program, which is a Victorian Government commitment CFA is delivering to improve service delivery at integrated fire stations.
In addition to the new fire station, Morwell Fire Brigade recently received a new heavy pumper, one of 12 state-of-the-art vehicles rolled out to various stations across the state as part of CFA’s Growth Programs. The heavy pumper includes a range of new design elements including improved technology and stowage capacity.
Neighbouring Traralgon Brigade has also received one of the new heavy pumpers.
The 350 Firefighter Program involves significant investment in the recruitment of 350 new career firefighters, creating and deploying 350 mixed-rank positions from the existing workforce, building new fire stations, renovating existing infrastructure and purchasing new fire trucks and equipment.
Construction work on the new station in Morwell is scheduled to start by December 2018.