Cherrybrook Rural Fire Brigade
History
(sourced from '50 Flamin’ Years. 1952 – 2002. The history of Cherrybrook Rural Fire Brigade,
formerly West Pennant Hills Volunteer Bush Fire Brigade.”)
Cherrybrook Rural Fire Brigade was formed as “The Hornsby Shire Bush Volunteer
Brigade, West Pennant Hills and District” at a public meeting on Tuesday 29 July
1952. This followed a fire that started somewhere in the Dural area during
January/February of 1952 that continued on into the heart of Hornsby, leading to
the loss of several homes and structures on the way.
Residents of the West Pennant Hills area (Cherrybrook at that time was part of
West Pennant Hills) assisted in fighting the fire, no doubt including a number
who were some of the original members of the brigade.
In the early years, equipment was rudimentary with little more than hand tools
and a few lengths of hose for areas served by water mains. It wasn’t until
December 1968 that the fire brigade received it’s first ‘vehicle’ – a trailer
with an 80 gallon tank (about 364 litres – just over 1/10th the size of the
current truck’s tank), a pump, and storage for a few lengths of hose and a
selection of hand tools. The trailer was typically towed by a tractor owned by
one of the local residents.
A few of the key dates from this point onwards that highlight the development of
the brigade are:
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October 1971 – an old corrugated iron fruit packing shed off Gumnut Road (now Yanderra Grove) became the brigade’s first fire station. |
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November 1971 – the brigade received it’s first fire truck – a second world war vintage “blitz” formerly belonging to ‘The Gorge’ (Hornsby Heights) Brigade. The Blitz carried around 600 gallons of water. |
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June 1973 – the ‘Blitz’ was replaced by a Bedford tanker, which carried a crew of eight – six of which sat on an open outside bench. |
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October 1973 – the brigade’s first personnel carrier arrived. The Landrover Troop Carrier was ‘inherited’ from the Fire Control Officer, and was used mainly for changing crews in the field and general support activities. |
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December 1973 – the Ladies Auxiliary formed to provide catering during incidents and assist with fundraising. |
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During 1976 – a mobile catering trailer “Sally” was designed and built. This became the basic design for many trailers used by welfare organisations around the world, and was still in use supporting the brigade during 2002. |
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December 1981 – the brigade’s ‘purpose built’ station opened at the present day location on Shepherds Drive, near Macquarie Drive. Built mainly with volunteer labour, the station also acts as a training centre and houses the district’s catering brigade. At this time, the name of the Brigade changed to “Cherrybrook” to match the suburb being developed in the area. |
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August 1986 – a Toyota LWB Troop Carrier replaced the existing personnel carrier. |
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November 1988 – the brigade received an ISUZU JCS tanker. The total crew of six now sat in relative comfort and safety inside a dual cab. |
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October 1994 – a new ISUZU FTS 700 tanker was received. Many additional features and items of equipment were added to the basic vehicle through efforts of individual members and support from the community. |
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May 1997 – a new 75 series Toyota LWB Troop Carrier became the new personnel carrier. |
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December 1997 – during a busy fire season, a new ISUZU FTS 750A tanker was received. A quick changeover of equipment saw the previous tanker immediately forwarded to the Kyogle area for active duty. The 750A is the tanker in service at the time of writing. |
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May 2002 - We
celebrated 50 years as a brigade. Read More |