Yarrawonga CFA volunteers practice their drills with outdated equipment, not fit for purpose.
For years, the old Yarrawonga fire station has been crying out to be replaced with the requests falling on deaf ears.
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The station is not fit for purpose, and CFA inspectors have said it is not suitable for refurbishment.
A new fire station in Yarrawonga has been CFA District 22’s top priority for many years and now documents attained under Freedom of Information show Yarrawonga is the second highest station replacement priority for the entire CFA northeast fire district, which extends from Chirnside Park through Seymour, Shepparton, Wangaratta and Wodonga regions.
Yet once again, Yarrawonga has been left off the list of priorities by the Victorian Government, which last week announced $148 million over the next 10 years for the CFA’s fleet, fire stations and critical equipment.
Of that, $26 million is allocated to facilitate new, purpose-built facilities for CFA members.
Yarrawonga is one of the fastest growing towns in regional Victoria, but Yarrawonga CFA Captain, Lawrence Phillips said volunteers were using outdated vehicles as the station was too small for new vehicles to fit into.
“The town is not able to be serviced by reliable machinery,” Capt. Phillips said.
“There are no showers so we’re taking contaminated clothing home into our homes and families - that’s a major thing, a brigade like ours should have showers.”
CFA Victoria chief officer Jason Heffernan said the funding announcement would improve conditions for brigade members across the state and make a substantial difference to the safety and comfort of CFA members.
“It will ensure our hard-working volunteers are well-equipped with the most up-to-date, safe and modern facilities, vehicles, and equipment to help protect lives and property in their community now and well into the future,” Mr Heffernan said.
Yarrawonga’s ageing and outdated fire station has again been overlooked for upgrade.
But despite repeated lobbying from Ovens Valley MP, Tim McCurdy and Member for Northern Victoria, Wendy Lovell, there will be no money heading to Yarrawonga CFA.
Ms Lovell first raised the matter in Parliament in 2020 when the government said it was “aware of the needs of the Yarrawonga Fire Brigade”.
Early this month, she again called on Emergency Services Minister, Vicki Ward, to fully fund a new station in the 2026/27 state budget and said the government’s failure to do so was a betrayal of the brigade volunteers and the broader Yarrawonga community.
“Yarrawonga CFA fire station is no longer fit-for-purpose … the brigade has had to forgo truck upgrades because they won’t fit in the current station,” Ms Lovell said.
Mr McCurdy said it was “deeply disappointing” that Yarrawonga had once again been overlooked despite being identified for many years as one of the highest priorities in the northeast fire district.
“Our local volunteers deserve facilities that are fit for purpose, (they) do an outstanding job protecting the community, but they are operating out of facilities that simply are not adequate,” he said.
“They deserve a clear commitment and a timeline for a new station now.”
Capt. Phillips said Yarrawonga’s 25 CFA volunteers responded to 154 callouts last year and 60, so far, in 2026.
The brigade has 10 more volunteers waiting for training and 24 in its junior brigade.
“We’ll do the best we can with what we have,” he said.
“But it comes down to the station not being big enough to service the town.”
Emergency Services Minister, Vicki Ward and the CFA Victoria did not respond to our questions.
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