Brigade call for second station

By Paul Dunlop
PAKENHAM fire fighters are keen to have a presence on both sides of town.
Concerned that the rapid spread of housing and increased traffic through Pakenham will make it that much harder to meet super-fast response times, Country Fire Authority officials are pressing for a satellite station in the area around Army Road.
Fire fighters are currently preparing to move into the recently-completed $11 million Emergency Services Centre, home also for police and the SES, at the western entrance to town.
But while the new complex will provide a state-of-the-art facility for the future, Pakenham CFA captain Vince Ingram said there could also be a need for a ‘satellite’ station a few kilometres down the Princes Highway.
New estates along Army Road and either side of the highway on Pakenham’s eastern outskirts will mean hundreds of new homes springing up over the next few years.
Mr Ingram said the amount of traffic already on local roads was making it tougher for the CFA to meet its eight-minute response target.
Firefighters attending call-outs on the eastern side of Pakenham could get to emergencies much faster if they didn’t have to cross town to get there, he said.
“I’m not talking about a major fire station, just a shed really that’s big enough to house a couple of trucks with space for volunteers to park their cars when they get a call-out,” Mr Ingram said.
“There is a lot of growth in the area east of the town and it remains to be seen how much the Pakenham bypass clears up the traffic through the town. Having a satellite station could save a lot of precious time.”
Mr Ingram said he would seek a meeting with Cardinia Shire Council to further discuss the proposal.
Several of the CFA’s 70-odd members already lived in the Army Road area. Having tankers stationed in the area could dramatically cut turn-out times, he said.
“At the moment we are continuing to meet our Service Delivery Standard (SDS) target which is eight minutes.
“We are maintaining a 90 per cent success rate which is very good considering last year we had more than 360 call-outs. But it is not getting easier as the town gets bigger.”
Pakenham CFA will remain at its current headquarters in John Street for some time yet with the final touches being placed on the Princes Highway complex.
It is expected the complex will one day house a Magistrates’ Court as well.