By Mikayla van Loon
Getting ready to turn out to a fire by putting on protective clothing and boots in a cramped store room sized area is a reality Chirnside Park CFA’s members don’t have to face anymore.
After nearly a decade of operation and significant growth the home base was upgraded to suit the needs of the evolving brigade.
With over 40 active members, the recent extension project has reached completion catering to the expansion in members, with better training spaces, a larger turn out room, separate bathrooms and dedicated safety rooms for washing equipment.
Captain Ben Cash said the extension and upgrades were well overdue for the size of the brigade, Chirnside Park’s population and the number of jobs it responds to each year.
“Since we became our own brigade in 2015, we haven’t had any significant upgrades to the actual station so we were missing key facilities,” he said.
“There’s been a big investment that has brought us up to being a really strong functioning brigade, which is what we needed.”
When Star Mail spoke to Mr Cash in 2021 about the need for an extension, he said one of the main additions required were female toilets.
“We have a dedicated female toilet which we never had. It should be a basic step forward for gender equity but to get it, it was still something we had to fight for,” he said.
The bathrooms have also included a gender neutral toilet and shower, which Mr Cash said would not only support diversity within the brigade but also the health and safety of members.
“If we have to decontaminate from an asbestos job, they can walk straight through [from the truck bay to the] shower, and they’re also encouraged to keep clothing in the car so they can get dressed into something fresh,” he said.
“That way they’re not taking anything into their cars and their homes. We want to stop any contamination from leaving the station.
“That’s really important for their safety as well as their family’s safety. That’s what we really care about is what’s happening back at home as well.”
A specialised breathing apparatus room, equipped with storage for the canisters, as well as washing facilities for the masks would improve hygiene and organisation of the essential firefighting equipment.
Mr Cash said it was even the smaller items like a hot water unit rather than a kettle that would make a huge difference to the ease of operations, especially “when you’ve been out at a job in the rain all night and don’t have to worry about a kettle when trying to make a hot drink”.
That boost in morale and pride for the volunteers, Mr Cash said, was just as important as the new facilities themselves.
But more than that, the extension provided a multi purpose meeting and training space, something that was lacking previously.
“Having that size meeting room where we get comfortable and we don’t have to have desks in the corner but with dedicated office space, that’s the real winner out of all of this. That dedicated training space and meeting space is just a game changer for the brigade,” Mr Cash said.
The office spaces were designed to cater to members who usually work from home, who can now work from the station improving response times.
“What that will do is during the daytime, where all brigades struggle, we can have people here on site, who can get that truck at the door really quickly. That’s the name of the game.
“We want to get that truck on the road and out to where it’s needed so that’s an amazing addition. If we can have two people working from the station, already, that’s half a crew. We’ve got another person who lives across the road, that’s three already within a minute.
“So they can go off like that with three people in the truck. If there’s another person coming, even better, they can have the truck out the front ready to go.”
The entire project, Mr Cash estimates, was in the realm of $500,000, of which the brigade contributed $85,000 with the rest from the CFA’s infrastructure budget.
Mr Cash said, however, without local business and community support that would not have been possible.
Having previously struggled to take on more members because of space constraints, Mr Cash said the brigade was pleased to get back into recruitment to keep that pipeline of skills going.
“We’re wide open to taking members at the moment. We’ve got half a dozen training at the moment.
“So we’ve got a wave coming through and we’re about to start another push for the next wave. If we can get another 10 people to join, that will put us in a really strong position.”
An official community open day is set for later in the year with details to be confirmed. To inquire about volunteering, visit cfa.vic.gov.au/volunteers-careers/volunteer-with-cfa/apply-to-volunteer
