On the back of a commitment to fund a brand-new ambulance station in Cootamundra, Fire and Rescue NSW Cootamundra captain Les Carr is suggesting a combined ambulance station and fire brigade.
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This week Member for Cootamundra Katrina Hodgkinson announced a new purpose-built ambulance station would be funded to be built in town.
The need for a new station is high with the three NSW Ambulance vehicles attached to the station unable to fit inside the current premises.
Mr Carr said Fire and Rescue is facing a similar issue.
“We have got the same problem; vehicles are getting bigger and we will run out of room,” he said.
A current proposal exists to build a shed adjacent to the fire station in Adams Street should future vehicles not fit inside the station itself.
Rather than this ‘fixer-upper’ approach to issues as they arise, Mr Carr is of the opinion a joint emergency services complex on the corner of Parker and Adams Streets (the former Mitre 10 site) would be ideal.
He said more and more emergency services are working together and it makes sense to have them under the one roof.
He suggested police, and possibly even the State Emergency Service (SES) and Rural Fire Service (RFS) could be part of the mix.
While conceding he does not see a major overhaul of how emergency services are housed in small towns such as Cootamundra in his lifetime, Mr Carr stood by the idea.
“To have emergency services in the one spot makes sense,” he said.
Precedent exists in the state with emergency services located in the same complex.
To have emergency services in the one spot makes sense.
- Fire and Rescue NSW Cootamundra captain Les Carr
