Kilsyth Electorate News

FIREFIGHTERS are refusing to move into a $3.2 million station they say is unsafe because the drive was put in the wrong place. Croydon Fire Station is still unoccupied several months after it was completed and officers and the union have branded it a ``death trap''.

As Victoria's fire season approaches, the brigade responsible for the outer eastern suburb at the foot of the Dandenongs is operating out of a crammed station built half a century ago. The United Fire Fighters Union refuses to sign off on the new station, declaring it a safety risk to fire fighters and the public.

Union spokesman Greg Pargeter says the main concern is that the driveway leads directly out on the busy intersection of Dorset Rd and Mt Dandenong Rd. ``It could be a death trap if it stays as it is,'' he said. ``How it's set up is just an accident waiting to happen.''

More than 50,000 cars cross the intersection every day. Glen Cavanagh, a Croydon fire fighter for two years, said trucks leaving the station would either get stuck in traffic or be a danger to passing pedestrians and motorists. He said preliminary testing of warning lights and sirens at the station had failed to stop cars speeding through red lights at the intersection.

Metropolitan Fire Brigade chief fire officer Tony Murphy denied the station was unsafe and said it would deliver better response times and improved facilities for fire fighters. ``There were some delays in the construction and the union has raised some concerns but it is ready to go now,'' he said. Kilsyth Liberal MP David Hodgett has urged Emergency Services Minister Bob Cameron to ensure the station opens as soon as possible. Mr Cameron did not respond to questions about the station.