IN TIMES of flood and storm, they're the ones who will turn up on your doorstep with an outstretched hand.

But Murwillumbah's State Emergency Service unit is facing its own crisis.

Unit controller Jack Frost said their Kyogle Rd headquarters had been affected by three landslips in the past five years.

The most recent of these was in April this year, as the unit's volunteers worked to help those in danger during the flood.

Earth falling from the sheer hill above their building crumbled once again onto the rear of their facility, as a tree gouged a hole in their back wall.

This has been patched up, but the damage and the slope's instability have rendered much of the unit's headquarters unsafe.

"It's a bit of an issue," Mr Frost said.

"We've been told by council we're not supposed to use any of the shed area so we've basically lost six parking bays.

"We've got most of our boats and other equipment over at the industrial estate at South Murwillumbah that council's provided which is somewhat problematic."

Mr Frost said the Tweed Shire Council was undertaking a geotechnical report to look into options for the slope.

While he hasn't seen the report, he's been told the back section of their building will likely be demolished. This would be the second time they'd lose part of the station for this reason.

This will also mean less space for the unit's volunteers to leave their vehicles when responding to incidents.

Mr Frost conceded the site didn't feel safe, but said the unit was in desperate need of a fully-functional station.

"I'm not a geotechnical (expert) but to me, that slope is unstable," he said.

"We've had three landslips in the last five years so who's to say when the next one is going to be?

"Who's to say how bad it's going to be?

"The last thing I want is to have a volunteer that's working out here that gets injured or killed because of a landslip."

While volunteer safety was his highest priority, Mr Frost said splitting the unit in two had decreased their ability to respond to emergencies.

"We've got five boats, one vehicle, we've got a sandbag trailer, we've got a storm trailer and we've got a lot of our equipment over in South Murwillumbah," he said.

"In the industrial estate that's all flood-free so that didn't go under during the March and April floods, but the road access does.

"The facility council's provided over in South Murwillumbah is pretty good. It's very large, it's fairly new.

"The problem is, it's in South Murwillumbah. If we get flooded we can't get to this side of the river which is where all the action's going to be."

Lismore MP Thomas George said while he appreciated it was a long process, he would continue to work with the council and SES to find the right solution for the unit.

"The landslip at the back of their headquarters has not only caused them concern, it's caused the Tweed Shire and myself a lot of concern," he said.

"The problem we've faced is trying to find a suitable site, that is flood-free, in Murwillumbah. And it has to be in Murwillumbah."

Mr George said while they'd looked at several sites already, finding one outside the flood zone with the right access to the SES unit's service region was no easy feat.

Mr George said funding was already in place.

The NSW SES has allocated $250,000 across two grants to help the Tweed Shire Council and Murwillumbah unit from its Building Grant Budget.