Fire station 'wrong way round'
By Paul Carter
March 23, 2008 05:35pm

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,23419572-29277,00.html?from=public_rss

A NSW Fire Brigades boss is downplaying "minor issues" over a new station in Bathurst which the firefighters' union describes as a total stuff-up.

NSW Fire Brigades Union secretary Simon Flynn said the $2 million fire station was built the wrong way round, making access impractical and dangerous.

Entry to its front driveway was severely hampered by a concrete median strip on the road outside the station, he said.

It forced fire engine drivers to make two tricky 90-degree turns when driving out the back door in an emergency onto another road without a median strip, he said.

"It is a total stuff up," Mr Flynn said.

NSW Fire Brigades director of regional operations Assistant Commissioner Mark Brown said the design of the Bathurst Fire Station was practical and safe.

"The fire station has dual access to two street frontages – Alexander and Suttor. However, Suttor Street provides the safest route due to traffic volumes on the main road," he said.

"This arrangement has no impact on response times. The station was designed and built for fire engines to respond in either direction."

The union said the Suttor St access was almost blocked by the median strip.

Mr Brown said leaks in the roof of the new station, which opened in March last year, had been fixed and quotes were being called for relocating an air compressor from the old station still used to fill air cylinders.

"As this is not an emergency activity, the location of the compressor has no impact on the brigade, however it will be more convenient once it is relocated to the new station," he said.

Mr Brown said relocation to the new station had been successful despite the "minor issues".