New station 'lifting the benchmark'

New Zealand Fire Service region 5 property co-ordinator Stephen Hill (left) and Wanaka chief fire...
New Zealand Fire Service region 5 property co-ordinator Stephen Hill (left) and Wanaka chief fire officer Bruno Galloway stand outside the new Wanaka Volunteer Fire Brigade station in Ballantyne Rd. Photo by Tim Miller.
It may have taken 10 years of planning but the Wanaka Volunteer Fire Brigade has finally moved into its new home.

The final equipment was moved in on Saturday morning and the fire brigade will now operate from the $3million new station in Ballantyne Rd.

Wanaka chief fire officer Bruno Galloway said the  new fire station was first proposed 10 years ago and it was fantastic to have it finished.

Volunteers sometimes struggled to get car parks at the old station  and getting trucks out traffic was a problem  at times in heavy traffic, but the new station would not have any of those issues.

It was bittersweet to move out of the the old station, which was built by volunteer firefighters and serviced the community for more than 50 years. he said.

"The old station really served us well but the new place has really lifted the benchmark for what a modern station should look like."

Another notable feature of the old station had also been moved. 

The siren was now on a site on Plantation Rd, Mr Galloway said.

The station will be officially opened in November and the public will get chance to have a look inside later in the year, he said.

New Zealand Fire Service region 5 property co-ordinator Stephen Hill said it had taken about a year for the 585sqm station to be built.

With a completely modern design, the Wanaka station would be the envy of many communities around New Zealand, he said.

It was the first new fire station built  south of the Waitaki River for 16 years, Mr Hill said.

With the ability to house 40 volunteers and three fire trucks the station and a modern control room, the station was built to last the next 75 to 100 years, he said.

Mr Galloway said he was unsure what would happen to the old station.

Ngai Tahu has the right of first refusal on any Government land being sold.

A spokeswoman for Ngai Tahu said it was too early to make a comment on the future of the old station.

tim.miller@odt.co.nz

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