Works begin on new fire station

A NEW CFA fire station in Junortoun is being built and it’s reflective of the brigade and suburb’s growth.

Construction officially started at the site last Friday, with member for Bendigo East Jacinta Allen on hand to turn the first sod at 25 Popes Road, which is across the street from the current station.

“This was an election commitment that myself on behalf of the Andrews Labor Government made back in 2018 and it’s great three years later to see the start of works,” she said.

“The brigade needed a new facility; it had outgrown its old facility which had served the community well but it’s time for a new station and one that met the modern needs of the fire brigade here.”

The new station will house trucks and equipment while providing enhanced kitchen and meeting facilities, change rooms, toilets and shower facilities.

Brigade caption Heath Martin said Junortoun’s population has increased by 70 per cent since 2010 and the CFA had well and truly outgrown the former 1980s-built station.

“When you’ve look at what we’ve managed along with until now, this will be fantastic,” he said.

“It’ll get rid of a lot of our OH&S issues, we’ll have the ability to house a lot of our stuff properly, be able to train and do our maintenance in our environment, and it will be an asset for the community as well.”

Junortoun has 34 active members and has responded to 36 callouts in the last 12 months, 26 in its primary response area.

“The feeling around the brigade is one of elation, we’re so happy that it’s finally happening,” Mr Martin said.

“We plan to kick off a recruiting campaign early next year in conjunction with when this starts to look more like a station, and we’ll continue to grow.”

The new site has been funded by $1.6 million from the State Government and $900,000 from the Emergency Services Refurbishment Program.

Construction is expected to be completed by Autumn next year.