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BEGA’S new ambulance station, the location of which will allow officers to respond to calls for help faster, has been officially opened.
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Held on Friday, November 13 the ceremony took place 61 years to the day from when the old Canning St station was opened.
On Friday, as Bega station officer Rhys Tamatea eyed off dark clouds forming over the town, he said 61 years ago they had to make the ceremony quick because it started raining.
Ambulance officers moved into the $2.7million new station 12 months ago.
Having had the time to settle in and get to know the new building, Mr Tamatea described it as fantastic.
“With this new station we are going forwards into the future,” he said.
“The old one [on Canning St] lasted 61 years and I think this one will last even longer.”
The nine staff at the Bega Ambulance Station attend an average of 150 incidents a month, from motor vehicle collisions, farm accidents and cardiac arrests to interstate transfers to the ACT.
Mr Tamatea said the location of the new station, on Tathra Rd next to the South East Regional Hospital, will allow officers to respond to calls quicker as they had direct pathways to the north or to the south.
Even though the old station was in the centre of Bega, ambulances still needed to contend with traffic before getting out of town.
NSW Ambulance acting chief executive David Dutton, who cut the ribbon during the opening ceremony, said the challenge with ageing stations was that ambulances change as time goes by, so it can sometimes be difficult to fit a new vehicle into an old station.
He said with Bega’s new station the ambulance fleet could change substantially and still accommodate the vehicles.
In the future, the plant room could also be expanded to contain more vehicles if needed.
“The new premises on Tathra Road incorporates a huge plant-room, a training room, workshop facilities and security access, with environmentally-friendly features such as solar panels, rain water tanks and a garden sprinkler system,” Mr Dutton said.
“This start-of-the-art facility will operate alongside the soon-to-open South East Regional Hospital, meaning the Bega Valley community will benefit from an integrated health district in the one location.”
The opening was attended by dignitaries such as Member for Eden-Monaro Peter Hendy and Bega Valley Shire Mayor Michael Britten.