Work gets under way on new $3m fire station

Work has begun on Wanaka's new $3 million-plus fire station in Ballantyne Rd between the police station and the new Wanaka search and rescue headquarters. The 585sq m station building is due to be completed by June next year.

Wanaka chief fire officer Bruno Galloway, who has been a member of the town's volunteer fire brigade for 36 years, said yesterday the new station had been talked of for 10 years.

Moving the station out of the main street would reduce parking problems for volunteers and would make it easier for appliances to get out after fire calls.

There was also room for appliances to manoeuvre in front of the station without having to drive on to the street.

New Zealand Fire Service region 5 property co-ordinator Stephen Hill said the building was designed to a high standard, to enable it to remain operational after a natural disaster.

It was the first new fire station built in region 5, south of the Waitaki River, for 16 years.

The fire siren would not be moved to the new site because it would be less audible in some parts of Wanaka, he said.

However, it would be moved from the existing fire station when it was decommissioned.

Mr Hill said a resource consent from the Queenstown Lakes District Council would be needed for a new siren site and declined to say which sites were being considered.

Mr Galloway said the normal practice was for volunteers to be paged individually, but the siren was still important, to ensure all volunteers and others were aware a fire appliance had been called to an emergency.

To reduce noise issues at night, the siren was sounded four minutes after pagers were activated, giving volunteers who reached the station in time the option of not using it.

Mr Hill said the old fire station building would be disposed of and Ngai Tahu would be consulted first.

The Wanaka Community Board has raised the possibility of the building being bought by the council.

mark.price@odt.co.nz