COFFS Harbour’s NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) Area Command will be housed in a new $10 million facility to be built at Coffs Harbour airport.

The new facility is where the helicopter recently assigned to the Mid North Coast will be located, enabling rapid deployment across northern NSW.

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Gurmesh Singh has been lobbying hard for both the helicopter and centralised facility for the RFS, currently operating from disparate locations around Coffs Harbour.

“The new facility set to be built will house the RFS Area Command team, Planning and Environment team and hangar for the multi-purpose helicopter, providing local firefighters with state-of-the-art facilities and resources,” said Mr Singh.

“Coffs is a big hub for rescues for the RFS – beyond fires, there’s the floods, storms and such events as the train derailment in Nana Glen.”

The helicopter service will also be supporting the SES and Fire & Rescue services promptly, rather than having to get the services up from Newcastle, he said.

Minister for Police and Emergency Services David Elliott, RFS Commissioner Rob Rogers and RFS Deputy Commissioner Kyle Stewart joined Mr Singh and Coffs Harbour Mayor Denise Knight at Coffs Airport for the announcement.

David Elliott said a lot of work from Mr Singh had resulted in the helicopter being permanently located in Coffs Harbour.

“The work being done in recent times has justified the decision to provide a better level of service and safety, and extra support to the other services.

“The building of the new facility and provision of aviation assets to the area shows we take the service very, very seriously.”

RFS Commissioner Rob Rogers said that the strategic placement of the RFS aviation fleet including Coffs Harbour, is particularly important with Coffs being seen as a significant location for the RFS, with over 50 staff located here.

Helicopters, now located in Coffs, Dubbo and Tumut, will provide additional reassurance for regional NSW communities.

“It will not only support the NSW RFS during firefighting operations, but also provide other regional emergency services with real time high-definition video streams and assist in search and rescue missions,” said Mr Rogers.

“Coffs has the infrastructure and good support from council,” he added.

Mr Elliott said the NSW Government is committed to the expansion of the RFS aviation capacity, including its resources and training.

“The RFS aviation capability has grown over recent years and is now the biggest firefighting aviation fleet in the country,” he said.

By Andrea FERRARI