New Rhodes Fire Station planned for Inner Wests’ booming population
Rhodes Fire Station, with its small boathouse garage which can’t fit a modern firetruck and outdoor toilet, is being forced to relocate.
Rhodes Fire Station, with its small boathouse garage which can’t fit a modern firetruck and outdoor toilet, is being forced to relocate.
The station is more than 100 years old and the facilities are too antiquated to support the functions needed to run a modern-day fire unit.
NSW Fire and Rescue Field Operations Deputy Commissioner Michael Morris said: “It’s certainly well beyond its useful life in terms of its size and ability to provide adequate facilities for a modern workplace. So while it’s a closure of one chapter of history, it’s an exciting option to put the fire fighters in a new facility.”
The historic fire station opened in 1921 after a slow response time for a Rhodes timber yard blaze. The then eight-man volunteer fire brigade moved in when Captain Charles McIlwaine allowed the crew to work on his property.
The 438 Concord Rd property has been on a peppercorn lease over the years with Mr McIlwaine’s descendants allowing the operations to continue until the land was bought by a developer in 2018.
The developer recently lodged a development application for the area, resulting in the 16 on-call firies having to move out and relocate.
NewsLocal understands the crew loved working there but the area’s now booming population and increased demand has outgrown the capabilities of the small boat house station that can’t fit a modern fire truck and still has an old dunny in the backyard.
The new station will be inspired by the Ryde Fire Station at 120 Coxs Rd, North Ryde. The $8.3m fire station was equipped with fire, rescue, HAZMAT, environmental protection and medical responses with a rotating crew of 16 firefighters, it’s understood.
NSW Fire and Rescue Field Operations Deputy Commissioner Michael Morris said an “appropriately located” block of land has been purchased for the new station but the location was yet to be announced.
Mr Morris could not confirm if the new station would be merged with the Concord Fire Station, which is 3.4km away and said planning regarding the project was still underway.
“There is consultation happening with all the parties across government, our industrial partners and the union around what the future of Fire Services would look like for the area,” he said.
A NSW Government spokesman said: “Rhodes Fire Station is a priority for renewal due to its location in a rapidly growing corridor and concerns with the station being no longer fit-for-purpose.”
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Originally published as New Rhodes Fire Station planned for Inner Wests’ booming population
