Porepunkah Fire Brigade has successfully obtained a new fire station thanks to three government grants and local fundraising.
“We’re excited about the station redevelopment at Porepunkah,” Fire Brigade Captain Mick Dalbosco said. “We’re building a new three-bay shed beside our existing station to house our heavy tanker, ultralight and, at some time in the near future, a new pumper.”
The Victorian Government’s Volunteer Emergency Services Equipment Program (VESEP) gives brigades $2 (up to a maximum of $150,000) for every $1 of funding raised by a brigade or group to help buy a wide range of items.
The new station will also have a breathing apparatus (BA) washing area and laundry facility.
The grants will also help the brigade to convert the existing station to provide an office, a meeting/training room, kitchen, change rooms, shower and toilets. The meeting room will have a large screen with video conferencing capability.
“This will enable remote training which will be a great advantage to our members who are faced with an hour’s drive to our major centres for face-to-face training,” Mick said. “Our town is central to the Ovens Valley Group, so hopefully the room will be used as a hub for our group for shared training sessions.”
The new station was made possible through three government grants. First, the brigade was told it was eligible to apply for a grant from the Enhancing Volunteerism Grants Program and it received money following the community sale of a local church. In 2020-21, the brigade successfully applied for its first VESEP grant for concreting the new station, then it received a second VESEP grant in the 2022-23 cycle to fit out the existing station.
In all, the brigade has secured about $426,000 towards the new station build and old station renovation, and has contributed about $183,000.
The brigade is now eagerly waiting for the station to be built.
The new station is needed because the brigade’s risk profile has changed over the years.
“Our risk profile was traditionally rural, but recent developments in the township areas have increased our urban risk profile. This has brought about a change in direction for the brigade and we now want to increase the numbers of members trained in structural firefighting and with BA accreditation,” Mick said.
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