THE Country Fire Authority's wish for a new station in the fire-prone Mount Clear/Mount Helen area is closer to becoming a reality following the state government announcement yesterday it would endorse the plan.
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While a suitable site for the much-needed project has not been found, Emergency Services Minister Bob Cameron said in Ballarat yesterday that the cost was being worked through. He estimated it would be around $3.2 million.
CFA officers and the University of Ballarat will meet this Thursday to discuss whether land at the Mt Helen campus of the university would be a suitable site for the new fire station.
"The Brumby Government continues to deliver fire safety improvements across the entire state and for residents of Mount Clear and Mount Helen that will mean the first Country Fire Authority station will be built in the area to provide an even greater fire protection,'' Mr Cameron said during a meeting with the CFA and University of Ballarat yesterday.
"There has never been a bigger effort by communities, emergency services agencies and the state government to prepare and protect Victorians from fire than there is right now.''
As part of a report released earlier this year, Eureka Strategy: a fire response proposal for Ballarat, the CFA stressed the suburbs of Mount Helen and Mount Clear, which were identified as at-risk areas for bushfires, would benefit from a new station to service the area.
In the Eureka Strategy, the CFA said the cost of a new fire station in that area would be $2.5 million, which included $1.5 million for a 2A-standard fire station, $400,000 to buy suitable land, $500,000 for fire trucks and $100,000 for equipment.
The report said the CFA needed to invest almost $17 million in redevelopment and infrastructure to meet the growing demands of Ballarat for the next 20 years. The report identified a new fire station should also be built at Alfredton, while existing fire stations at Barkly Street, Sturt Street and Buninyong needed upgrading to improve service and response times.
Acting operations manager for Eureka Group CFA District 15, Bernie Fradd, welcomed the state government endorsement of a fire station at Mount Clear/Mount Helen.
"This is step one in our Eureka Strategy. We will now meet with the University of Ballarat to determine if they have appropriate land for the development. I am confident we will find suitable land,'' Mr Fradd said.
Ballarat East MP Geoff Howard, who has been lobbying for the new station, said the devastating Black Saturday bushfires of 2009 highlighted how important it was for the people of Mount Helen, Mount Clear and Ballarat to have well-prepared fire plans and be fire-ready.
"This is a very beautiful part of the world, but as we have also seen in recent years, it's not immune from the threat of fires and by building a CFA station here ... we can protect lives and property in this area,'' Mr Howard said.
