This news article appeared in the Daily Liberal on February 2nd 2018. It is clear that the Lets put the RURAL back into the Rural Fire Service campaign is beginning to bear fruit.
Congratulations to Mayor, Ben Shields for his support.
Progress is being made on the construction of a Rural Fire Service training facility.
Dubbo Regional Council has awarded a tender for the demolition of buildings at Dubbo City Regional Airport where the training facility will be constructed.
The centre will provide specialist training in areas such as incident management, road crash rescue and fire investigation, as well as member induction training.
With a 30-year lease agreement in place, it is fair to say that the flow-on effects will be felt in the local economy well into the future.
Mayor Ben Shields
Once completed, up to 100 people could be trained at one time, said NSW RFS Deputy Commissioner Rob Rogers said when it was first announced. It would also bring an additional 30 jobs to the region, he said.
A $182,000 tender from Newbold Bulk Haulage was accepted by council for the demolition of the buildings.
“The demolition of these building is the first step to enable the construction of the state of the art Rural Fire Services Training Facility,” Dubbo Regional mayor Ben Shields said.
“This is an exciting development for the region, which will provide an estimated $18 million injection into the local economy during the construction phase, and with a 30-year lease agreement in place, it is fair to say that the flow-on effects will be felt in the local economy well into the future.”
Deputy Commissioner Rogers said it would be an important facility to help increase skill levels.
“We’ve seen over decades quite a number of firefighters lose their lives in really difficult circumstances so the RFS has invested significantly in training over the last couple of decades and what that has resulted in is a reduction in injuries and fatalities in firefighters. That’s not to say that won’t happen, but it will reduce it.”