Wollongong & Katomba Comm's to Close

[JAFO]

Well it official, it has been announced by the Minister for Emergency Services that Wollongong & Katomba will be closed and 30 staff sent back to frontline positions in fire stations.

Newcastle Comm's will undergo a major upgrade which will see it's FireCAD liked with Sydney Comm's.

[Longreach]

any timeline?
cheers
Matt

[JAFO]

Na no time line was set in the media release, just stating that Newcastle Comm's was to undergo a major upgrade and 30 odd firefighters from Wollongong and Katoomba were going back to frontline positions at Stations.

I would say give it 18month to 2 years before we see anything.

[ivahri]

Hi Grant,

Definitely not 18 months to 2 years...target date is April 2012. There has been alot of work done on this already so my personal view is that the greatest obstacle will be industrial... technically... well I'll be busy for a few months next year.
Radio wise there is lots to do (potentially) as there will very likely be major changes to talk groups & changes to PMR system boundaries.

Cheers,


Richard

[JAFO]

I was thinking more in "building wise" Richard, does the Current Newcastle Comm's site have the room to expend the facility?

[ivahri]

They are taking over the area at the rear where the Zone Office was... they have already moved a lot of stuff out & I'm pretty sure building work is underway. I'm not involved in the project, only providing advice on the radio side of things so I wouldn't know how things are travelling.

Cheers,

Richard

[JAFO]

Not a bad thing not being involved Richard, think this one will be a mesh deal.

[JAFO]

End of April is the time period,

[ivahri]

That is the target date... getting tired of Newcastle already after 2 weeks there. Still a massive amount to do but a huge team of staff & contractors working their butts off right now. The new Newcastle equipment room already looks impressive & the new Operators room is starting to take shape.

Cheers,

Richard

[ivahri]

No-one heard the excitement this afternoon? What are you scanner enthusiasts doing? One contractor is being "counciled"... don't use acrylic waterproofing in the roof while the airconditioning is running... as a result Newcastle had to be shut for some hours (still may be) while Sydney handled their load. A good unplanned test.

Cheers,

Richard