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Speaker 1: You may have heard that the new Palmerston Regional Fire

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Speaker 1: Rescue and Emergency Services Complex it officially opened yesterday. The

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Speaker 1: twenty five million dollar complex on Howard Springs Road was

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Speaker 1: structurally completed at the end of this financial year. It

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Speaker 1: does provide a more modern facility for our firefighters and

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Speaker 1: emergency service volunteers. And joining me in the studio to

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Speaker 1: tell us a little bit more about what this new

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Speaker 1: facility is going to look like and what it means

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Speaker 1: for fire eas is the Chief Fire Officer Mark spain

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Speaker 1: Good morning to you.

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Speaker 2: Oh, good morning, Katie, Good morning listeners.

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Speaker 1: Now Spainy this facility, it was officially opened obviously yesterday.

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Speaker 3: Is it operational yet.

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Speaker 1: Yeah.

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Speaker 2: We've got the Northern Command moved in there and and

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Speaker 2: Tess volunteers are sort of working in and out of

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Speaker 2: that area. So it's a dual purpose facility. It's a

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Speaker 2: fire station and it's emergency services complex for the Palmeston

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Speaker 2: volunteer group. But it's also a major cash for when

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Speaker 2: we have big incidents that occur around the territory that

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Speaker 2: we've got cases available for deployment.

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Speaker 3: That sort of mean to the layman, likely.

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Speaker 2: Like when we have floods, and cyclones without going into

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Speaker 2: anti space, but they've got tarps and the end all

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Speaker 2: alike that will be able to sort those sort of

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Speaker 2: that people need in need water and all that sort

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Speaker 2: of stuff.

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Speaker 3: So good stuff.

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Speaker 2: But as from my fire station perspective, how awesome is it?

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Speaker 2: They will replaced the Palmston fire station that was built

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Speaker 2: in nineteen eighty three. In Palmston population then was only

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Speaker 2: around about three thousand people of Driver and Gray when

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Speaker 2: it first kicked off. Now, if you have a look

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Speaker 2: at the growth in Palmston itself, the expanding suburbs, even

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Speaker 2: the Minister Lawler said there's another five hundred allotments coming

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Speaker 2: up around that area. We look at the growth and

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Speaker 2: Cooler Linger, we look at the industrial areas, we look

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Speaker 2: at the growth of the mining. So it's a timely upgrade.

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Speaker 2: So what I do really want to thank the government

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Speaker 2: for is they've actually built a building for the future.

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Speaker 2: We currently have six firefighters will be allocated there, plus

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Speaker 2: the Northern Command who serve it's all our wonderful volunteers

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Speaker 2: in the local area and up and down the highway.

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Speaker 2: But that will grow as that will grow, as we

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Speaker 2: expand and as community expands.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, so how many fires do you reckon? We'll be

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Speaker 1: stationed there longer.

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Speaker 2: Term, the long term projection for us, and I'll be

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Speaker 2: long gone before that. But you know, we've built for

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Speaker 2: up to eighteen fire fighters speed. But the key point

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Speaker 2: for us at the moment is it's built that during

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Speaker 2: our high fire danger days, we can put extra cruis

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Speaker 2: into there. When there's cyclones on, we can double the

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Speaker 2: shifts up in comfort and they can respond accordingly. So yeah,

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Speaker 2: there's a lot of activity going.

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Speaker 1: And by the sounds of it, it's not just like

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Speaker 1: it's not just been built obviously to have the firefighters there.

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Speaker 1: It's been built there for ND tests as well, and

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Speaker 1: to be able to really sort of to surge up

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Speaker 1: if required and when.

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Speaker 2: Required absolutely surge up. And as the regional area. So

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Speaker 2: you know, we want to look at Parmston. If you

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Speaker 2: have a look at Parmston, it's got two light industrial areas,

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Speaker 2: we've got multiple high rises, you've got shopping centers, you've

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Speaker 2: got residential growth and built lingots just expand. And then

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Speaker 2: you look at Wodell. So this TOWOK years in the planning,

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Speaker 2: it's up and running. So we will still continue to

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Speaker 2: work with government for future growth.

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Speaker 1: And I know, I mean twenty five million dollars, it's

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Speaker 1: a big price tag from the Northern Territory government. So

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Speaker 1: what sort of makes it different to other stations.

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Speaker 2: I think it's rated. It's a OL rating for cyclone

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Speaker 2: for four category, so it can withstand those cyclones. That's

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Speaker 2: where a lot of the cost comes into. The delays

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Speaker 2: were simply COVID. You know, half of the churrectory was

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Speaker 2: closed down, half the world was closed down. So yeah,

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Speaker 2: there was a little bit of critics about the delay

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Speaker 2: in the opening, but you know, we can only work

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Speaker 2: with what we're given. So it's a fantastic complex. We

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Speaker 2: are looking at having an opening day for the regional

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Speaker 2: area so the people can come and have a look

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Speaker 2: at it. But we'll wear some more amenable weather as

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Speaker 2: in the drysing so end of April early May we're

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Speaker 2: going to target just before the dry seasm.

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Speaker 1: I know, like kids absolutely love the fire trucks like

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Speaker 1: they When my little fellow was young, he used to

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Speaker 1: oh silly for the fire trucks. So I think when

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Speaker 1: you can actually get the kids in there and get

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Speaker 1: everybody in there to see how how it actually looks,

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Speaker 1: how it operates as well.

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Speaker 3: It's a great thing for the community to be able

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Speaker 3: to do well.

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Speaker 2: There are human Katie, you go like everyone loves for est.

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Speaker 3: Good on you.

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Speaker 1: So that'll be planned obviously, or that bit of a

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Speaker 1: community open day hopefully for.

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Speaker 3: During the dry season or around the dry season time.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah it is. I'd I'd like to do a

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Speaker 2: call out to thank the Minister Law and particularly Minister

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Speaker 2: Madison who is the Minister for the Police, Fire the

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Speaker 2: Minister Services at the time, so you know, without their

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Speaker 2: input and get it in over the line, we wouldn't

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Speaker 2: have this. Say, the old Palmston fire station has given

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Speaker 2: us great service. We all convert that into a training

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Speaker 2: hub for our recruits. But the new station just is

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Speaker 2: built for growth, right.

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Speaker 1: For the future, and so then with the old Palmeston

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Speaker 1: fire station it'll just sort of be converted.

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Speaker 3: Is there much work that needs to happen there for

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Speaker 3: that to happen.

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Speaker 2: No, not a great deal. It's the infrastructures there. We've

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Speaker 2: just got to do a bit of tweaking on the

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Speaker 2: inside and we'll get that up and running. But you

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Speaker 2: know what I'd like to also point out, you know,

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Speaker 2: as we as the committee grapples with the climate change thing.

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Speaker 2: So we've got new emerging technologies, you know, coming forward.

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Speaker 2: So you know our job as a fire rescue service

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Speaker 2: is to actually adapt and protect the community as a

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Speaker 2: switch to those new emerging technologies.

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Speaker 3: Well, and I guess we'll need to, won't we.

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Speaker 1: So it is a good thing then if you've got

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Speaker 1: a fire station that's able to adapt and able to

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Speaker 1: you know, to move quickly when required. Mark Spain, the

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Speaker 1: Chief Fire Officer for the Northern Territory. Always good to

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Speaker 1: catch up with you. Thanks so much for your time

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Speaker 1: this morning.

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Speaker 2: Thanks Cattie,