A fire station to call home

VOLUNTEER firefighters in March will soon have their own fire station thanks to land donated by one of their own members.

Long-time NSW Rural Fire Service (NSW RFS) volunteer Wayne Culverson donated a portion of his own land so that the brigade could finally have a station to call their own.

Until now the brigade’s two trucks have been housed separately within the village, with volunteer meetings conducted in members’ sheds, homes or workplaces.

Mr Culverson said there would be many benefits from having a centralised location for the brigade and local community.

“It was a very easy decision to make, I’m community minded and it’s something that will be in the community,” he said.

“It’ll be a focal point with the volunteers ... we’ve always held our meetings in private place or packing sheds.

“We’ve got no hall or meeting space so more or less a place where the community can meet.”

Last Thursday framework for the much-wanted shed began to be put up with Mr Culverson excited to witness the build.

“We’ve been wanting this shed for a number of years and it felt so good to see something happening,” he said.

“It gives us a place where we can go and all our equipment will be together and not scattered all over the district and it will make it easier.”

NSW RFS Canobolas Fire Control operations co-ordinator Brett Bowden said the $160,000 station was expected to take six to eight weeks to be completed.

“It will be the same as Darby Falls [fire station] and similar to the Lake Canobolas station,” he said.

The station will be a two-bay standard design and Mr Bowden said it would be a focal point for the community.

“The community will see very clearly that a rural fire brigade does exist in their community,” he said.

Among other planned station works in the Orange area is an extension to the North West Brigade station.

nadine.morton@fairfaxmedia.com.au