Melbourne’s fire stations to go green

Fire stations in Melbourne are set to become more sustainable, with a specially developed Green Star rating tool enabling the city’s Metropolitan Fire and Emergency Services Board (MFB) to gain Green Star certifications for new fire station developments.

MFB worked closely with the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) to develop the custom-built tool for Australian fire stations.

“The Metropolitan Fire Brigade is setting new benchmarks for sustainability in the emergency services sector, and we applaud its green leadership,” says GBCA Chief Executive, Romilly Madew.

MFB’s Chief Executive Officer Nick Easy says, “This new tool goes to the heart of what we are seeking to achieve in our corporate policies, that is, to make our fire stations more productive and more environmentally and financially sustainable in the long term. We look forward to sharing the benefits of the tool with our Victorian and Australian emergency services partner organisations.”

The Metropolitan Fire Brigade now has exclusive use of its Green Star custom rating tool and will be registering a new fire station project to achieve a Green Star rating. The tool will not only make the fire station developments more sustainable, it will identify standard ecological sustainable design (ESD) initiatives that can be embedded in major renovations. The tool will help the MFB to design and deliver fire stations that are energy and water efficient, minimise greenhouse gas emissions and resource consumption, feature environmentally sustainable materials and provide healthy and productive spaces with good indoor environment quality.

MFB collaborated with architecture firm Spowers and engineering firm Murchie Consulting on the rating tool.

Spowers’ Managing Director, Ros Magee, says: “Given the unique operational requirements of the MFB, the new customised rating tool needed to allow for evaluation of sustainability measures relevant to the MFB and its stakeholders. The new rating tool will support the MFB in its continuing leadership in environmentally sustainable development.”