Coonabarabran has an outstanding new station for the Town Fire Brigade and on May 9, locals were invited to explore the facility on Cassilis Street.
Young and old turned out to get a look at the new Coonabarabran Town Fire Station last Saturday, with a special open day to show off the new facility.
Brigade staff were on hand to show visitors through the building, showing off the new modern facilities. Deputy Captain Zac Estens showed us the fully-refurbished interior of the previously-used building, noting that there is now a male and female changeroom, which will certainly help with recruiting female firefighters in the future.
In a practical upgrade, safety procedures have been improved significantly, with a completely separate area now available for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), allowing firefighters to put on and remove that gear in a clean and separate space. This is extremely important as this gear will regularly have carcinogenic contamination after staff have attended fire scenes.
They also have new areas for training and meetings, as well as a separate garage area for the station engines. Previously, the garage area of the old facility was the only available space for training and for gear removal.
In the time we spent at the open day, children and families enjoyed rides in the engines (sirens were loud at all times!) and tried the high-pressure hoses. Youngsters such as Alex, seen on page 1, enjoyed that immensely!
We spoke to Station Captain, Dean McKernan, who explained that the station upgrades came about because of “new safety procedures” and the funding that resulted from that. Fire & Rescue NSW are working their way around the state, upgrading and improving facilities across all regions. Dean explained that the Coonabarabran station was now among the top 5 stations in the region for facilities and equipment overall.
He went on to praise the 12 staff members they have now (all paid) and with the new facility, there are plans underway to increase recruitment. So look out for that when it is officially announced. It looked like there were plenty of aspiring firefighters today, but no doubt the minimum age is 18!
There will be an official opening for the station soon, once planning for various dignitaries and senior executive staff is complete to allow their attendance.
