#50Days50Ways - #24 - Lower Beechmont Firefighting Tanks
To improve bushfire safety in the Lower Beechmont area, we are in the process of installing 4 new water storage tanks for firefighting at 2 strategic locations.
Two tanks have already been installed along Bottletree Lane (finalised in 2023).
The other two tanks will be installed in Syd Duncan Park near the corner of North Road and Outlook Avenue. We carefully selected the locations in consultation with the Lower Beechmont Rural Fire Brigade to improve operations after lessons learned fighting the 2019 Black Summer fires.
Site under construction in February 2024
Here's our plan for the pair in Syd Duncan Park;
- Construct an asphalt driveway and turning circle for rural and urban fire trucks. The driveway will be secured with locked park gates to restrict unauthorised access
- Install two 20-kilolitre water tanks on a concrete pad
- Install stormwater catchment to direct water runoff away from private property
- Install privacy hedging behind the concrete pad to screen the tanks from private property
- Installation to begin in January 2024 for approximately 6 weeks, weather permitting
- Once installed, an artistic mural will be painted on the tanks in Syd Duncan Park, acknowledging everyone involved in the 2019 Black Summer fires
Some of these tanks were funded with the assistance of the former Federal Government, under Scott Buchholz MP oversight as MP for Wright, where Lower Beechmont is located.
Improving our fire resilience is critical and I'm proud to have delivered on this project, intended to keep Lower Beechmont residents more safe and help volunteer firies, and emergency service response, equipped to do their jobs.