The state-of-the-art facility, worth almost $4 million, will contain an emergency response operations centre, training facilities and the latest equipment.

Chifley RFS Inspector Mick Holland said the facility will allow staff and volunteers to better manage fires and incidents and will lead to improved safety for the community.

“It’s more than just a new office, it’s a whole facility for the management of bushfires,” he said.

“It makes life a lot easier for the crews and the guys out there in the coalface.

“We can co-ordinate a lot better from here.”

Among the new equipment available to crews in the centre will be real-time streaming of fires taken from the air, with the ability to zoom in as close as five metres from the site.

Chifley RFS’ current fire control centre operates out of the former Evans Shire Council building on Lee Street.

Inspector Holland said they have long since outgrown this small facility which they also share with a number of other groups and government organisations.

He thanked Chifley’s volunteers for their campaign to secure state government funding for a new fire control centre for the region.

“It’s due to the volunteers that this has happened. They’re the ones who have been pushing for this,” Inspector Holland said of the facility.

The NSW Government committed $3 million to build the centre, while the 1.5 hectare block of land on Hampden Park Road was donated by Bathurst Regional Council.

Member for Bathurst Paul Toole said once complete the Chifley Fire Control Centre will be the largest of its kind across the state.

“This is a fantastic facility for residents in the Bathurst electorate,” he said.

“The Rural Fire Service is such an important part of our communities, and through their 2000-strong volunteer base, they help protect lives and property 365 days a year.”

The centre is due to be completed by the end of March, 2017.