Four fire stations to get big makeover

Fire stations throughout Wairarapa are going to get a multimillion-dollar revamp over the next two years.
Fire region manager Ian Pickard said yesterday that stations in Martinborough, Greytown and Masterton would undergo seismic strengthening and refurbishment. The firehouse in Carterton would be demolished and built from scratch.
He said the total cost of the Wairarapa revamp work would be from $3 million to $5 million, although some designs were yet to be completed and tenders called.
Mr Pickard said there were 130 volunteer and 20 career firefighters in the region. The five stations were assessed for seismic compliance and all bar Featherston needed strengthening.
The Times-Age reported last week that seismic upgrading of the Martinborough station would start next Monday and would include new showers and toilets. The work was expected to take two months and the 19 volunteers would turn out from a temporary base in Ohio St. Design work was under way for the seismic strengthening of the Masterton station, which would include upgrading of the bedrooms and ablutions, relocation of the kitchen and dining area, and remodelling for a gymnasium and volunteer fire crew social room and staff training centre.
Designs for the Masterton station would be ready for consent application in mid-April.
The Wairarapa Ambulance Service also shares the station, which was built in 1967 as an area headquarters. Mr Pickard said the station was of a size and layout seldom seen today, with the advent of smaller urban firehouses and professional firefighters living off-site. ''We don't want to ruin the look of the station in Masterton, so it's giving us a few challenges.''
Planning is under way for a replacement station at Carterton. This project would provide three appliance bays, office space, shower and toilets, and kitchen and social room with storage. There were 26 volunteer firefighters working out of the present two-bay Carterton firehouse, which was built in 1945.
Mr Pickard said Wairarapa rural fire authority units had ''banded together'' to fund an extra bay at Carterton to house a water tanker for use throughout the region and would also have a presence at Masterton. A decision on the work required at Greytown was still to be made.