Bushfire Centre of Excellence to be based in Shire of Murray

The Shire of Murray was today announced as the location for the first-of-its-kind $18m Bushfire Centre of Excellence.

The Bushfire Centre of Excellence will provide a purpose-built facility and a committed team of staff, focused specifically on the enhancement of bushfire management across Western Australia.

It will draw on the experience of local volunteers and firefighters from across the country, as well as the latest in technology, the best in science and academia, and Aboriginal traditional land practices.

Fire and Emergency Services Commissioner Darren Klemm AFSM said the Bushfire Centre of Excellence will aim to improve rural fire management outcomes through leadership, collaboration and innovation across the sector.

“The establishment of this centre is about bringing everyone together – Traditional Custodians, the Parks and Wildlife Service, volunteer and career firefighters, local governments, DFES - and collaborating to build upon the great foundations that we already have,” Commissioner Klemm said.

“It is about recognising that we can all benefit from each other’s knowledge and skills.

“The centre will further enhance the training and bushfire management practices that are already delivered locally to thousands of firefighters across Western Australia and other bushfire management practitioners.

“Being a gateway to the South West, the Shire of Murray is an ideal location thanks to its existing infrastructure such as transport links.”

The design of the building is expected to be finalised in the coming months, and is planned to include outdoor training spaces, a storage area for training tools and equipment, training rooms and office space.

It will also include areas for exercising incident management teams and incident control centre personnel, enhancing WA’s existing capability by providing practical, ‘real-life’ training.

The Traditional Custodians will have input throughout the process on considerations such as building design, artwork and recognition of culture and heritage.