Deputy Rural Fire Service (RFS) Commissioner Rob Rogers and Upper Hunter Member for Parliament George Souris with Singleton mayor John Martin unveiled the plaque for the $419 000 state-of-the-art facility on Sunday after awarding 39 long service medals to local fire fighters.  

“It’s a great country station that has everything you need, in the past rural brigades would have little more than a shed to park their fire engines in but this is a true fire station equipped for modern fire fighting,” deputy RFS commissioner Mr Rodgers said to a large audience on Sunday.

The new station has been operational for the past year and the change of location resulted in the amalgamation of the Glennies Creek brigade with the nearby Carrowbrook brigade. 

The original Glennies Creek Fire Station was located closer to the Lake St Clair however due to changing residential densities and the need for better facilities a new station was constructed at more central location on Carrowbrook Road. 

Building started on the new station in 2009 and completed in August 2013, it has a conference/ kitchen room, rest rooms, storage room, captain’s office and enough space to comfortably house a Cat 1, 7 and 9 fire engines.

Several dates were allocated for an earlier opening of the station but were postponed, the most recent being October last year before RFS brigades in the area had to tackle the Mt Tangory fire. 

“It’s a great turnout today which is really a testament to the brigade itself, without these volunteers the new station wouldn’t happen,” Glennies Creek Brigade captain Nigel Moore said. 

The Glennies Creek brigade formed in 1930s by brave farmers who would together using smoke signals and little more than wet hessian bags and limbs from trees. 

It is currently a well-established brigade with 90 members on the register however due to the age of most members about 25 are actively involved in the fire fighting and they’re hoping for younger volunteers to join.