Volunteers in Australia may lose base at former fire station
In Australia, the volunteer group Launceston and North East Railway (L&NER) may lose its base at the former Karoola fire station near Launceston in Tasmania. The State Fire Commission has decided to sell the property through a public sale because it is no longer needed for operational purposes.
As ABC News Australia reports, L&NER, which is also registered as a Men's Shed, became the main caretaker of the building in 2022. At that time, the station was derelict. Volunteers restored and maintained it, and also used it as a base for work to restore a closed section of railway.
The station will be sold through an open process
On July 7, Fire and Emergency Services Commissioner Jeremy Smith informed L&NER chair Elizabeth Cute that the State Fire Commission, which owns the property, had deemed it surplus to operational requirements and approved its sale. According to him, the public process is intended to ensure transparency, equal conditions for participants, and an appropriate market price.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
The group will be allowed to use the station until it is sold. At the same time, Cute said the decision contradicts a verbal agreement with the Tasmania Fire Service: according to her, the service had previously indicated that it could eventually transfer the station to the volunteers because it did not need it.
There are no funds to purchase it
A representative of the Department of Police, Fire and Emergency Management said that since 2022, L&NER and the Men's Shed had used the property informally and free of charge. He added that the Tasmania Fire Service had initially considered leasing it, but no formal agreement was ever concluded.
L&NER expressed a desire to remain at the site and was therefore encouraged to participate in the sale. However, Elizabeth Cute said the organization does not have the financial capacity to buy the station. L&NER deputy chair Greg Stewart fears that without a base, work on a new pedal rail cart project, which began operating in May, may cease.
