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*This information is an extract from the colour-book produced by the Museum of Fire's Heritage Team to celebrate the opening of the new Abermain Fire Station back in 2017. Should you wish to use any of the information and pictures provided we ask that you please reference the Museum correctly and contact the Museum for permission where applicable. A Brief History of Abermain Fire Brigade The first account of fire in Abermain was on Sunday 24 July 1904 when a two-room family h

For this week's blog, Championship Historian John Hand takes a look back at the first annual Fire Brigades "Demo" held by the Victorian Brigades in 1896, 125 years ago. Competition between Fire Brigades in Australia began in the latter half of the 19th Century. In colonial Sydney, there was fervent competition between the Insurance Fire Brigades and the Volunteer Fire Brigades which resultantly saw the emergence of 'Demonstrations' being conducted to showcase the firefighting

*This information is an extract from the colour-book produced by the Museum of Fire's Heritage Team to celebrate the centenary of Windsor Fire Station and the opening of the new Windsor Fire Station back in 2016. Should you wish to use any of the information and pictures provided we ask that you please reference the Museum correctly and contact the Museum for permission where applicable. Last week we shared the story behind the disasterous 1874 Windsor Fire. To read more abou

With most of the Museum's team at the Sydney Royal Easter Show we haven't got a big blog for you this week but we thought we'd take a look back at the 1874 fire that ripped through Windsor and was the catalyst for the creation of a number of other local regional fire brigades. Windsor Fire Brigade was established in 1863 but it wasn't until this fire ten years later that the brigade was truly tested. On 23 December 1874 strong winds were experienced in the Windsor region and

What’s in a name? Well, quite a bit if you’re known as the ‘flying pig’... The Ace chassis was first manufactured in 1933 by the vehicle specialist company, Dennis Bros. It was considered to be quite revolutionary at the time, with unusual features such as a setback front axle, bevel pinion diff, and hydraulic brakes. The engine was mounted well forward and so the protruding ‘snout’ (bonnet) of the Dennis Ace soon earned the model the nickname of ‘flying pig’. Funnily enough,

Did you know? The Women’s Fire Auxiliary (WFA), established in the 1940s, was primarily formed to aid the NSW Fire Brigade on the home front during World War II? Albeit an interesting little tidbit of history for you here, you may be thinking: pray, what is the connection between the WFA and a 1942 “mobile canteen”? The Mobile Canteen in question, is a rare example of motorized canteen services used by the Metropolitan Fire Service from 1942 to 1974 and was supported, enthus

*This information is an extract from the colour-book produced by the Museum of Fire's Heritage Team to celebrate the re-opening of Pyrmont Fire Station back in 2016. Should you wish to use any of the information and pictures provided we ask that you please reference the Museum correctly and contact the Museum for permission where applicable. The Pyrmont Volunteer Fire Brigade (1881-1886) On Saturday 26 November 1881 some 2,000 people congregated on the green facing Union and

Fire Brigade Championships (as we know them today) began as ‘Demonstrations’ where fire brigades demonstrated their skills to the local community. Events in the ‘Demo’ are based on real situations that firefighters face daily and are designed to highlight their talent and expertise. Following the formation of the NSW Fire Brigades in 1910, it was not until 1932 that ‘Demos’ were reinstated as a regular occurrence. Now, State Firefighting Championships continue to be one of Fi

*This information is an extract from the colour-book produced by the Museum of Fire's Heritage Team to celebrate the opening of the new Mt. Druitt Fire Station in 2018. Should you wish to use any of the information and pictures provided we ask that you please reference the Museum correctly and contact the Museum for permission where applicable. We thought this would be a great time to share this history of Mt. Druitt Fire Brigade as the Brigade celebrated 50 years of operatio

Prior to the advent of the modern motorised appliances used by Fire and Rescue NSW today (FRNSW), brigades responded to fire calls with hand (or horse) drawn devices. These manual appliances typically required at least two personnel to operate and were essential for transporting firefighting equipment to the scene of an incident. This blog will give a brief overview of the manual hose reels utilised in New South Wales firefighting efforts from the 1870s up until the 1940s. As