Last week’s state budget allocated $300,000 to plan a replacement for the CFA’s ill-fated Fiskville training centre.
The budget also allocated almost $78 million to recruit more firefighters, boost their skills, upgrade resources and provide more support.
“[The new centre] will join other Emergency Management Training Centre (VEMTC) training grounds at Bangholme, Penshurst, Longerenong, Mildura, Huntly, Sale and Wangaratta, providing training for emergency service volunteers and staff,” CFA chief executive Michael Wootten said.
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The CFA is currently training career recruits at the VEMTC in Craigieburn.
“Four CFA recruit courses have been conducted at VEMTC [Craigieburn] since it opened last year,” Mr Wootten said.
The Fiskville training ground closed in March amid reports chemical residues were found in tanks used to store mains water for firefighting training.
The new training centre is likely to be built in Ballan, as Buninyong MP Geoff Howard has previously told Star Weekly.
He said the government and CFA were keen to find a new training facility in the municipality.
The budget will also provide $9.6 million to build new stations, including one in Buninyong, and there will be funds to recruit 450 career firefighters, 100 for the MFB and 350 for the CFA.
“The additional 350 will bring our total number of career firefighters to more than 1200, and they will support CFA’s 59,000 volunteers,’’ Mr Wootten said.
The budget has set aside $33.5 million for manufacturing 70 new frontline firefighting vehicles. Work on 20 medium tankers, 40 heavy tankers and 10 medium pumpers has already started. Fifty will be built in Victoria and a contract for the remaining 20 will be awarded in coming weeks.
“These state-of-the-art vehicles will cement CFA’s fleet as one of the most advanced in Australia” Mr Wootten said.
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