New Regional Bush Fire Brigade station opens its doors in Broome

Sunday 20 September 2020

A new $1.5 million bushfire station, which officially opened today, will improve response times for rural properties, pastoralists and remote Indigenous communities in the Kimberley.

The new station houses the Kimberley’s first remote mobile command centre and is the new home of the Broome Regional Bush Fire Brigade.

Constructed through $1.29 million in Emergency Services Levy (ESL) funding, it will help volunteers to better serve their local community and the Kimberley, while bolstering engagement and bushfire safety education.

The Shire of Broome secured the land and contributed $224,000 towards construction costs, including the provision of a project manager and landscaping at the site.

Regional Bush Fire Brigade volunteers were involved throughout the design phase of the building and raised $26,000 for the construction of an outdoor area.

Fire and Emergency Services Commissioner Darren Klemm AFSM said Broome volunteers are a critical resource throughout the Kimberley and the new station would ensure they were well equipped to respond to incidents.

“For many years, brigade members have operated from two facilities,” Commissioner Klemm said. “Neither facility met all of their operational needs.

“The new station is a welcome addition to the emergency services community in the Kimberley and is a reflection of the collaboration between the brigade’s executive, DFES and the Shire of Broome.

“The construction of the new station will result in a significant improvement in the brigade’s ability to recruit, train and retain members, while improving DFES’ ability to deliver services to the region.”

More than 90 per cent of the construction of the new station was completed using local labour and the brigade started operating from the new station in mid-August.

The Broome station includes five appliance bays, a meeting room, training area, personal protective equipment cleaning area and offices.

The ESL supports more than 26,000 fire and rescue, marine and emergency services volunteers and funds over 1,600 firefighters and DFES staff to provide 24/7 fire and emergency assistance across Western Australia.

The ESL funds operations that keeps the community safe from bushfires, protects people from floods, storms and cyclones, helps those involved in road crashes, guards the community from hazardous spills and saves lives through search and rescue missions on land or at sea.

Every cent collected from the ESL goes towards providing emergency services to the community.