Andrew Mole, The Koondrook and Barham Bridge Newspaper

There is a certain can-do attitude when it comes to Koondrook and getting things done – and the town’s CFA volunteers are a prime example.

On Sunday, the local brigade held a very casual, very enthusiastic and very well received open day to unofficially officially unveil its new annex.

And as well as Koondrook residents, first responders turned up from every direction – CFA brigades, police, ambos and SES – to support the celebrations.

With something to engage everyone who dropped in, from a barbecue lunch to entertainment for children, from fire safety demonstrations to firing the hoses down the street.

Brigade captain Ben Watts describes the annex as a triumph of brigade and community commitment.

Ben says funding via the Volunteer Emergency Services Equipment Program (VESEP) meant the brigade would have to find 33 per cent of the project cost.

And it did.

He says a combination of fundraising, recycling, hands-on project management and general determination saw the brigade get some much-needed elbow room.

“The annex has given us a fit-out room where uniforms are stored, and which now includes a washing machine or uniforms and a breathing apparatus wash station,” Ben explains.

“It also gives us some training space and an area separate from the station proper and the diesel fumes from the truck when we get started on a call,” he adds.

“We have also completed a major renovation of our office and meeting room – which now includes a large screen TV for virtual reality training drills.”

But it doesn’t stop there. Ben says the next project is already on the planning board – a kitchen renovation.

With everything from snags and egg and bacon rolls to popcorn, flavoured ices and face painting, there was a real atmosphere of celebration.

However, in the frontline community safety business the work never stops.

Ben took advantage of a visit by The Nationals leader and Member for Murray Plains, Peter Walsh, to again push his brigade’s cause for a pumper to supplement its existing single unit.

He says Koondrook has a problem – the town is the fastest growing in Gannawarra Shire and becoming so popular it is in danger of outstripping the ability of its brigade to guarantee its protection.

And that’s not because there are not enough firefighters. The brigade has 22 members with an amazing 19 of them fully operational.

They just don’t have the equipment they need to protect their community.

It is a problem Peter Walsh has taken to the floor of the Victorian Parliament in a bid to solve the problem before there is a crisis. And one the brigade has been working to solve for the past four years.

Peter says this strategically located brigade’s most vital requirement is a pumper truck and the backup breathing apparatus which comes with it, so it has the capacity to access water supplies at fire scenes beyond the limited volumes in its existing vehicle.

“The brigade has already done a spectacular job expanding its station, and now has room to fit a pumper as a second unit,” he says.

“It doesn’t even have to be a new one, a second-hand pumper would be perfect and would do the job at a minimum cost.

“The sheer professionalism and strength of this brigade means CFA headquarters often wants to include it as a part of regional strike teams.

“If that happens, and their one truck goes out of the town, it has nothing to offer if there is an urgent call in Koondrook itself.”

This article appeared in The Koondrook and Barham Bridge Newspaper, 10 October 2024.