Romsey and District Fire Brigades Group is calling for help to stop the sale of its headquarters.
The District 2 group says that it, along with the community groups who use the building, will be homeless once the station is sold.
Group officer Ralph Hermann said the headquarters are being sold because Romsey CFA brigade had received a new station nearby.
But he said the new station did not provide space for the group’s vehicles, and that the headquarters were “still very much in use”.
The headquarters service Bolinda and Monegeetta, Clarkefield, Darraweit Guim, Lancefield, Romsey and Springfield CFA brigades. They’re also used by the Romsey Lancefield Red Cross, Lancefield Romsey Lions Club and various other community groups.
Mr Hermann said the groups would “be homeless or held to ransom having to lease or rent space in the community” once the headquarters are sold.
He said the fire brigade group was also concerned the community had invested in the facility, but proceeds of the sale would not necessarily be used locally.
“The extension of the group HQ was facilitated by a significant contribution from the Ash Wednesday Fund from the Macedon shire council,” he said. “It is the opinion of the group that the sale of this property is short-sighted and a blatant misuse of community [Ash Wednesday] funds.”
The Romsey group has called on Macedon MP Mary-Anne Thomas to help stop the sale.
A CFA spokesperson told Star Weekly the CFA had “constructed a new fire station for the Romsey Brigade and Romsey Group in 2014 at a cost of approximately $1.7 million”.
“In line with CFA’s obligations, the old station has been declared surplus and will be disposed of, with proceeds funding ongoing infrastructure projects,” the spokesperson said.
