Published on Thursday, 30 July 2020 at 3:00:00 PM
The 2019/20 financial year contained some major milestone achievements in the Emergency Services sphere. First cab off the rank was the completion of the new Coondle-Nunile Fire Station for the Coondle-Nunile Volunteer Bush Fire Brigade. The project saw the Shire re-imagine the standard 2-Bay BFB facility design specified by DFES, to ensure brigade requirements could be met now and into the future. The design features large drive in / drive out vehicle bays, PPE washing facilities, modern and comfortable offices and meeting / training room facilities. The qualities of this design were not lost on DFES who have subsequently adopted the concept as their standard design for Emergency Services Levy funded facilities. The Coondle-Nunile brigade, who also received a new flagship 3.4U fire appliance earlier in 2019, moved in in October and over the fire season have settled into their new home.
The Shire also completed a major extension / renovation of the Morangup Fire Station, now known as the Morangup Co-location Centre which officially recognises Toodyay SES operations from the Site. This project covered the original building (passionately constructed by the Morangup Volunteer Bush Fire Brigade over many decades) into a large 7-Bay facility – which is believed to be the largest in the Goldfields Midlands Region. The revamp also included PPE storage and washing facilities, modern and comfortable offices, meeting / training room and kitchen facilities. The brigade and SES unit moved back in June, and are busy adjusting to their new surroundings.
Both the Coondle-Nunile and Morangup projects were majority funded by DFES’ Local Government Grant Scheme, from Emergency Services Levy proceeds. Official openings for both facilities are planned for later this year which will be an opportunity for the community to inspect these impressive facilities.
The construction of the Morangup Co-location facility also provided a new lease of life on the facility’s original water tank which has been relocated to the western end of McKnoe Drive in Morangup, to assist fire services with essential fire emergency water supplies. The Coondle-Nunile Fire Station project also include new fire emergency water tanks, partly funded by a Department of Water and Environment Regulation Watering WA (Royalties for Regions) grant and the Shire.
The Shire has also been busy with its largest bushfire Mitigation program ever. Funded by the DFES Mitigation Activity Fund, from Emergency Services Levy proceeds, a total of 115 treatments were undertaken across the Shire. Treatments included fire access track upgrades, hazard reduction burns and mulching of high risk road verges. While these works have been undertaken to mitigate the effects of bushfire on our community, it is important all residents play their part in preparing their property for the upcoming fire season. Many of these works will make the Shire’s wonderful reserves more accessible for passive recreation, however misuse by recreational motorised vehicles will limit the long term effectiveness of these works and the Shire urges residents to use our reserves responsibly.
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