A war of words has erupted between the Minister for Police and a group running a social media campaign fighting NSW fire station closures, after widespread fire damage at an isolated Springwood high school last week.
The group called Stop NSW Fire Station Closures posted their concerns on the Gazette's Facebook page following the $10 million fire at St Columba's Catholic College over the long weekend.
At its peak, more than 60 firefighters from Fire and Rescue NSW and the Rural Fire Service fought the fire at St Columba's Catholic College which started just after 5am on Sunday October 5.
Stop NSW Fire Station Closures claimed after the fire "the next night, NSW State Govt budget cuts took Springwood fire station offline, delaying response by 20 minutes."
"You couldn't make this up, seriously. On Saturday night (Sunday Morning), the Blue Mountains experienced its largest structural fire for a decade, after St Columba's high school was almost destroyed by fire," the group posted.
"The very next night, Springwood Fire & Rescue station (the only permanently-staffed fire station in the Lower Mountains) was put offline from 11pm to 4am due to FRNSW budget cuts imposed by the Baird Government."
But the Minister for Police and Emergency Services, Stuart Ayres, said it was a nonsense.
"At no time was Springwood Fire Station offline. Any suggestion Springwood Fire Station was closed is simply a lie.
"On Sunday night, the permanent firefighters from Springwood were on hand at St Columba's High School in case there was a re-ignition.
"Had there been a fire or incident in the Springwood area, they would have immediately been assigned to that incident.
"Crews from Lawson and Glenbrook were also available to respond to fires and other emergencies."
