A new purpose built $1.6 million headquarters has been hailed as a welcome boost for the NSW State Emergency Service (SES) at Auburn.
NSW Minister for Emergency Services Jihad Dib and NSW SES Commissioner Carlene York opened the new headquarters at a ceremony today as the Auburn SES unit also marked its 40th anniversary.
The new building provides garages to house the new generation of advanced NSW SES rescue vehicles and boats, storage for rescue equipment, offices, a training room, kitchen facilities, change room facilities and a laundry.
The two storey, 500 square metre building has enough space to garage up to eight High Clearance Vehicles, and includes a rest area for flood rescue operators, kitchen, bathroom and laundry, an operations room, a training room, plus a lift for accessibility between floors.
NSW SES Commissioner Carlene York APM said the facility would have lasting benefits not just for Auburn, but the entire metro zone.
“We can now house significant assets and personnel at Auburn, which means in times of flood and storm, we will be able to deploy people where they’re needed, right across the zone,” Commissioner York said.
Auburn SES has 83 members who provide valuable service to their community with capability in flood rescue, storm response, urban search and rescue, flood boats, 4WD and high clearance vehicles, incident management, plus training and assessment. In the last 12 months, they have responded to 193 incidents and helped out of area with almost 30 members deploying across NSW.
Minister for Emergency Services Jihad Dib said the NSW Government’s funding of new SES facilities, vehicles, boats and training has all come together at the Auburn facility.
“This is about more than a building, or cars or trucks or boats. This is about the NSW Government’s strategic investment in the safety of the people of New South Wales, and supporting our wonderful volunteers with the resources they need to continue their vitally important work.”
Member for Auburn Lynda Voltz said the upgrade was important for the dedicated volunteers who helped keep local communities safe.
“Auburn SES volunteers now have everything needed to significantly enhance their capability, all under one roof,” Ms Voltz said.
Auburn SES unit Commander Jamie Newman said it was special to mark 40 years of service to the community with the opening of the new unit.
“We’ve come a long way in 40 years. When I started there were maybe a dozen members in a small two-bedroom cottage with a shed out the back. Now we have more than 80 members, and a fantastic purpose-build facility,” Commander Newman said.
“Our members had a lot of input into the design. It provides a quality environment with the latest technology to access emergency systems. It has been our dream – it’s so exciting to see the finished product.”
