Triple-0 calls will no longer be answered by locally-based operators after the state government last week announced the Katoomba Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) communications centre would close in mid-2012.
But Emergency Services Minister Michael Gallacher attempted to offset the blow by simultaneously announcing Springwood Fire Station would be upgraded to become only the second 24-hour, permanently manned station in the Mountains.

The Katoomba centre’s workload will be absorbed by upgraded call and dispatch systems at centres in Sydney and Newcastle without jeopardising response times, according to Mr Gallacher.

“For this reason the old communications centres in Wollongong and Katoomba will eventually close, however no jobs will be lost as a result,” he said.

A spokesman for the minister said call operators employed at Katoomba — all trained firefighters — would be deployed to the upgraded Springwood station.

“Altogether this decision is a major positive because we will have a firefighting force that is able to respond to incidents more quickly, ultimately saving lives,” Mr Gallacher said.

But Katoomba call centre operator and Fire Brigade Employees Union delegate, Mark Lutherborrow, has questioned the value of the twin announcements to the community and the affected firefighters.

“The best result for the Blue Mountains would be to keep Katoomba communications centre open and put permanent staff in at Springwood [as well],” said Mr Lutherborrow. “The need for permanent staff at Springwood has been evident for quite some time . . . independent of anything that happens with Katoomba communications centre.

“We’re not happy with the idea of robbing Peter to pay Paul.”

Mr Lutherborrow stressed the value of locally-based operators during serious incidents like last week’s bushfire at Echo Point.

“As much as the brigade and the minister want to discount local knowledge, it is very advantageous . . . It’s not just finding a street, it’s knowing all the resources that are available to you in a particular area and knowing all the response protocols,” he said.

“It’s a whole body of knowledge that you pick up.”

With the Springwood upgrade not set to be completed before the call centre closures, Mr Lutherborrow said the fate of the 17 firefighters employed at Katoomba remained unclear. He was hopeful any transition to a permanently manned station would not experience delays like those seen in Bathurst, which is only just moving into 24-hour operation 12 years after it was first mooted.

The Katoomba workers had not been guaranteed their current hours or local positions in the interim period, Mr Lutherborrow said.