Porepunkah Fire Brigade will celebrate the successful completion of a $700,000 expansion and upgrade of its station facilities at a special open day for the community this Sunday, 5 October.
Brigade captain Mick Dalbosco said the event from 11am to 2pm is being combined with the CFA's Get Fire Ready campaign and is a great opportunity for the community to come and tour the new facilities, enjoy a barbecue and get some handy fire safety tips to prepare properties and homes for the bushfire season ahead.
"We're pretty excited about what we've been able to achieve with the station redevelopment and we want the community to come and see for themselves," he said.
"This project has been in the works since 2018 and it really helps equip us and our community for the future."
The build has seen the brigade convert its former single-bay fire station with one meeting room and a toilet into an expansive and modern station which now has an office, kitchen, change rooms, showers and toilets, and modern meeting/training room equipped with a large screen and video conferencing capabilities.
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In addition, the station now has a three-bay shed to better house current equipment and vehicles including its two-seater Nissan Patrol ultralight with 500 litre water tank and IVECO 4C heavy tanker with 4000 litre, with another fire pumper expected in the near future.
"We've also got a BA (breathing apparatus) wash area and laundry which allows us to be a base to host training days...around a dozen of our members have been trained to use BA at fires," he said.
“Where we used to be primarily a country brigade servicing more rural and farming areas, now we are looking at more of an urban balance, so we need more training in structural firefighting and more equipment.
“With the increase in urban dwellings, both in Porepunkah and Bright, we’re thinking more about training for house and structural fires.
“We’re really grateful for all the support we’ve had over the years from the community, both those who donated and those who came along to our various fundraising events."
The new station was funded through Victorian government grants, local contributions/donations, and around $245,000 from the brigade.
This included more than $300,000 in grant through the government's Enhancing Volunteerism Program and Volunteer Emergency Services Equipment Program (VESEP); $110,000 from the sale of the Porepunkah Union Church; $20,000 from the Porepunkah Op Shop; and funding from FRRR and Brighter Days.
Mr Dalbosco said the brigade had a healthy membership of more than 50, of which around half were active.
"We're always looking for more members though," he said.
"Hopefully this Sunday's event may spark some interest".
HANDY HOME TIP
Getting a fire truck into a property can be challenging.
The CFA advises that if your driveway from the road to the building or static water supply is more than 30 metres your driveway surface needs to be 3.5 metres wide, plus another .5 metres either side clear of obstructions - with no obstructions for four metres above.
The driveway should be of all-weather construction with a load limit of at least 15 tonnes.
