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*This information is an extract from the colour-book produced by the Museum of Fire's Heritage Team to celebrate major renovations at Kariong Fire Station and Metro North 2 Zone Office. 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 Establishment of a Fire Brigade in Kariong The first steps to have a fire brigade established in Kariong took pl

The Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus ‘Where there’s smoke, there’s fire’ may just be a mere adage to most, but the danger of smoke poses a far more sinister threat for firefighters. The modern day Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) bears little resemblance to early experimental SCBA prototypes of the late 19th century. While there are some early historical accounts of firefighters breathing through wet beards to combat the threat of smoke inhalation, the earliest re

Last week we shared some of the history of Narrabeen Fire Brigade but did you know that the station was home to a WFA (Women's Fire Auxiliary) unit? During the war Narrabeen Fire Station had 15 women enlisted in the WFA. These women were: E. Duker, S. Ford, J. Harris, M. Jones, A. Kirkwood, B. Kirkwood, O. Kirkwood, M. Haynes, L. McLean, P. McLean, I. Moss, I. Sims, V. Slater, A. Ward and M. Williams. All, except one member of the Narrabeen WFA were appointed on 1 April 1943

*This information is an extract from the colour-book produced by the Museum of Fire's Heritage Team to celebrate the centenary of Narrabeen Fire Brigade. 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 Establishment of Narrabeen Fire Brigade Though relatively close to Sydney and the Sydney Fire District, Narrabeen remains rather isolated. In 1

During History Week earlier this month we shared our first " digital day". With a lot of people unable to travel and limits on the amount of people we can have on site at the moment we had to look at new ways to engage with everyone. One of the things we did during our digital day was to share some history about NSW's oldest fire stations. If you missed out don't worry as we will share some of these pieces that were put together by our heritage team over the coming months. To

*This information is an extract from the colour-book produced by the Museum of Fire's Heritage Team to celebrate the centenary of Quirindi Fire Brigade. 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 Need For A Local Fire Brigade in Quirindi Though the need for a brigade did not go unnoticed by the people of Quirindi. As early as 1902 locals w

Whilst the closed No. 1 Volunteer Company Fire Station in Haymarket is the oldest surviving purpose-built fire station, some of Sydney’s early stations remain operational. This blog will look at the oldest active fire stations and the brigades that continue to operate out of them. These buildings are all located in Sydney and include City of Sydney (1888), Balmain (1894), Lidcombe (1899) and Ashfield (1901). Join us at 2pm today for a look at the #5 oldest active station in N

History Week continues at the Museum this week and into the weekend. If you haven't already checked out what is on offer then please visit our website https://www.museumoffire.net/history-week-2020 In the meantime we thought we'd share the story behind the most recent addition to our collection. Thomas James Bown (1810-1872) served as a firefighter in London before arriving in Sydney in 1842, where he became the Colony’s first “professional” firefighter. He was handpicked a

*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 Parkes Fire Station. 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 Creation of a Fire Brigade in Parkes In November 1877, a meeting was held to form a fire brigade in Parkes and by the end of the following ye

Remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS), commonly known as drones, are not often associated with the Fire Brigade however they serve an important function for firefighting and rescue services, providing integral information which assists in the prevention, preparation, and recovery phases of field operations. They may also be used following major incidents such as bushfires or floods to provide real-time data for pre-incident planning and to assess damages. As a modern piece