Work on the $1.1 million project will start by the end of April and is due to be finished in late September.

CFA District 17 operations manager Dale Russell said the new centre would allow both services to operate more efficiently.

“Both existing facilities are barely adequate for their needs and this gives them greater flexibility,” he said. 

“It’s better from a community point of view having joint agencies.

“From a CFA point of view, the current station is too small and this will bring all the equipment into one.”

He said centralising the services just off the Wimmera Highway would allow for greater community safety.

“It has a three-bay truck width for the CFA and two bays for the SES with drive-through capabilities, so they don’t have to back in off the street, which will improve safety,” Mr Russell said.

“We’ll have two trucks and a forward command vehicle rigged out with radios and GPS which provides the incident controller mobility and various radio frequencies.”

SES Grampians regional operations manager Kendra Clegg said having both emergency services in one location made sense.

“From an SES perspective, we are really looking forward to the opportunity of having a joint facility where the Edenhope CFA and SES can work effectively and efficiently together in support of the wider Edenhope community,” she said.

Ms Clegg said the Edenhope unit was growing, with many junior members joining to bolster the service.

“Our Edenhope SES unit is a really vibrant group of volunteers from a cross-section of the community,” she said.

“As a region, we’ve really enjoyed these new members. They have been keen to learn and take on leadership roles.

“We would love to see that happen more throughout the Wimmera.”