The Yarloop Fire Station will soon reopen and the volunteer brigade will return to its base after the Waroona fires destroyed the building in January 2016.
Yarloop captain Daryle Wilson said it was a relief to be returning home to the station after months of travelling out of town for training.
“We’ve been working from the Cookernup station and going to Leschenault and Myalup for training,” Mr Wilson said.
“It takes us seven minutes to drive to Cookernup to get our fire unit and equipment.
“Yarloop took seven minutes to be destroyed.
“Once our fire shed is up and running, people will start to build in town because they feel more secure and confident that we can respond to a fire in time.
“The town can’t wait for it to be open again.”
Mr Wilson said it has also been an inconvenience for other Shires that usually train at Yarloop.
“Waroona and the Murray Shire come here and do all their training because we have a lot of trained officers,” he said.
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Harvey Shire president Tania Jackson said the new fire station has been anxiously awaited by the whole community.
She said about 25 buildings have been completed or are under construction in Yarloop.
“The town is happy about it all coming together,” Ms Jackson said.
Another big project underway is the Community Centre, that would replace the facilities that have been missing after the Town Hall was destroyed.
”The plan is to build a multi-purpose building that the Yarloop Community Resource Centre (CRC) and health practitioners can use,” Ms Jackson said.
“The CRC would be a prime tenant.”
The Shire is looking to appoint an architect for the project in the next few months.
“The shire will be talking to the community and holding workshops to get ideas on how we might approach the project,” Ms Jackson said.