New Badger Creek CFAstation work to begin

By Casey Neill
WORK on the new Badger Creek CFA station is expected to start at the end of January.
Badger Creek CFA captain Nic Rodway said the new station is needed “extremely badly”.
“We can’t actually physically fit our current amount of members in our fire station,” he said.
The current building, located in Badger Creek Road in Healesville, is set to be pulled down on 31 January.
The new fire station will be built on the same site.
“We’re hoping it will be completed early June but it will depend on the weather and how many wet days we get,” Mr Rodway said.
The station has two trucks but can currently only house one in the main station.
Retrieving the second truck from the station’s back shed increases the time it takes them to respond to an emergency.
Mr Rodway said having both trucks together at the new station will reduce turnout times by about a minute.
“It’ll make a huge difference. The community probably won’t see it initially but we certainly will when we get out there,” he said.
“Because both the trucks are housed up here we can take the right appliance to the right callout, instead of having to take this one because it’s closer.”
Mr Rodway said the station has minimal training facilities and no toilets.
“This building has asbestos in it so we’ll be happy to get rid of that as well,” he said. The new station will have a breathing apparatus cleaning area.
Members currently use the kitchen sink to wash the masks after use, which is against occupational health and safety guidelines.
The new station will also allow the unit to expand membership.
Badger Creek CFA has 22 active members and will launch a recruiting drive when the new station is completed.
The unit attended 128 callouts last year and will respond as normal while the new station is being built.