Kilsyth Electorate News

DELAYS continue to plague Croydon's $3.2 million fire station as authorities and union leaders lock horns over safety concerns. The United Firefighters Union has refused to sign off on the station, saying fire trucks will have to exit directly into a busy Dorset and Mt Dandenong roads intersection.

The Metropolitan Fire Brigade maintains the existing exit is safe. But union state president Tony Scully said present arrangements would require a 15-tonne truck to contend with a complex intersection that carried more than 50,000 vehicle movements a day and had a history of serious accidents.

Mr Scully wanted the entrance farther up Dorset Rd. ``It's not unusual for drivers to run red lights, so motorists and our members will be at risk,'' he said. ``Whatever the cost it would only be a fraction of the cost if there was a catastrophe on that corner.'' MFB spokesman Commander Paul Swain said safety would be ensured by warning lights that alerted drivers when trucks exited the station under emergency circumstances.

He said he believed the new station would also use a system to turn traffic lights red. He said the MFB did not need union approval, but opening without union approval would ``become an industrial relations issue''. Cdr Swain said he was confident the dispute would be resolved and the station opened ``in the near future''.

In July the MFB said the 24-hour, three-bay station first mooted in March 2005 would be ``open within weeks'' (Maroondah Leader, July 15). Construction was not complete until mid-September. Kilsyth state Liberal MP David Hodgett called on Emergency Services Minister Bob Cameron to intervene ``as soon as possible so this doesn't drag out until 2009''. Mr Cameron did not respond by deadline.