Minister for Emergency Services James Merlino visited the volunteer Selby Fire Brigade today to announce that the ageing station will be replaced with a $1.35 million state-of-the-art, three-bay facility on the same site.
Plans for the station are being finalised, with demolition works expected to start before the end of this year.
The existing station was built in 1977 and no longer meets the brigade’s needs, with its fire fighting vehicles barely fitting in to the current engine bays.
Mr Merlino said the station – one of five new stations being funded out of an additional $60 million the government has announced for the state’s fire services – will provide a range of benefits for the Selby Volunteers.
“The volunteers at Selby Fire Brigade desperately need bigger and better facilities, which is why we are funding a new fire station,” Mr Merlino said.
“The new building will have more space to store appliances and other key equipment, ensuring members have the modern base they need to respond to incidents and keep the Selby community safe.”
The station is expected to provide more space for the volunteers to store their fire fighting appliances and will separate the engine bays from the meeting room, office and kitchen.
Volunteers will also have a new area to don their protective clothing.
The Selby Fire Brigade currently has 47 volunteer members, comprising of 31firefighters and 16 support members.
On average the station is called out to around 30 incidents each year.
The new station will be completed in 2019.
