Golden Square officially opens doors on new station
Members of the Golden Square Fire Brigade have gathered to celebrate the much-anticipated official opening of their new fire station, alongside highly appreciative community members.
CFA dignitaries joined the festivities on Sunday (12 October) to mark the beginning of a new chapter for the volunteers in their new home.
The Golden Square Fire Brigade was formed in 1881, and up until now, they have been responding from their very first station location for the last 114 years.
The new station will enhance the brigade’s response capability within their local area, which is seeing an increase in structural risk due to residential development and expansion in schools, health services and commercial and industrial areas.
Captain of the Golden Square Fire Brigade, Bryan Greenwood, said the new facility marked an exciting new chapter for the brigade.
“It gives us a lot more room compared to the older station,” Bryan said.
“It is not only nice to have, but it is a lot safer for our volunteers.
“The training area is a huge positive because it means we can train there and no longer have to worry about finding somewhere off site to train our members.
“It also gives us the capacity to start recruiting again, which allows us to future plan and be adaptable to the changing community.”
The new fire station will support the brigade in providing fire protection services to the community and includes facilities such as a four bay motor room to house firefighting appliances, a turnout room and change facilities for both male and female members.
Alongside the new training room, there will also be a workshop, large external shed, a laundry and drying room, a rear training yard and a hose drying tower.
CFA Assistant Chief Fire Officer District 2, Archie Conroy, said he was glad to see Golden Square receive the upgraded facilities they needed to continue providing the best service to their community.
“Golden Square is a brigade which has seen a lot of changes in their community throughout their many years of service,” Archie said.
“It is wonderful to see them in a new station that will future proof their ability to contribute their essential service to the community of Golden Square and surrounds.”