Looking Back Thirty Years Ago: 1996

This week we are looking back thirty years to the year 1996. As Australia looked towards a new century, life was beginning to feel increasingly modern, while many of the traditions and technologies of earlier decades remained familiar parts of everyday life. For the NSW Fire Brigades, 1996 was another busy year, shaped by the people, incidents and developments that form part of our firefighting history. As we look back three decades, we revisit some of the stories that made 1996 a year to remember.

In early 1996 Macquarie Fields Fire Station became a mixed 24-hour station, with a staffing capacity of 4 Station Officers, 12 permanent firefighters and 16 retained firefighters.

Meanwhile, later in the year, in June 1996, a heavy rescue / technical support appliance was placed at the NSW Fire Brigades Greenacre property. In 1992 the BA/HAZMAT operations (assigned No. 9) had moved onto the site and in the subsequent years other specialized units came to be housed on the property, including the Rescue Section which had previously been housed at the now closed Rozelle Fire Station.

It was a quiet year for new station openings or buildings with just two events taking place. The first was on 29 June 1996 with the new opening of Kempsey Fire Station being held in conjunction with the centenary of the brigade. The second celebration was for Seven Hills Fire Station with it being officially opened on 11 September 1996, however the new station had been operational since 27 October the previous year.

• 

  Opening of the Fire Training Centre at Kempsey, 29 June 1996 [Museum of Fire Collection]

• 

  Fire Station opening at No. 43 Seven Hills, 11 September 1996 [Museum of Fire Collection]

In 1996, Bowral Fire Brigade welcomed a new recruit, Jodie Macleod, who made history as the first woman to be appointed as a firefighter in the district! She served for almost two years at Bowral.

1996 was also an important year in the establishment of the Liquid Detection Canine Unit! Following a request to the Australian Customs Service Detector Dog Training Centre, Chief Inspector George Riley offered a dog for the NSW Fire Brigades’ Flammable Liquid Detection programme. Kova, a three-year-old black male Labrador, was collected on 26 June 1996. Trained by Customs to give a passive alert (sitting) to avoid disturbing evidence, he underwent six months of familiarisation with handler Station Officer Graham McCarthy under Senior Constable Paul Doney of the North Region Police Dog Squad. They learned to detect minute quantities (as little as five microlitres) of petrol, kerosene and thinners. Kova and McCarthy joined the Fire Investigation Unit on 9 December 1996 as Australia’s sole flammable liquid detection team. Known by the radio call sign 95-K9, Kova attends fire scenes only at the fire investigator’s request and has assisted at numerous incidents.

When it came to major incidents two especially caught the attention of the public, one occurred within the greater Sydney area while the other was a regional incident.

At 3:43pm on 21 April 1996, Revesby Fire Brigade responded to a triple zero call to a cardboard recycling factory alight in Beaconsfield Street, Milperra.

When the firefighters arrived, they immediately got to work, and recognising the severity of the situation, they called for additional backup, with Bankstown, Liverpool, and Lidcombe fire brigades soon arriving. Due to the intensity of the fire, it was deemed too dangerous for firefighters to use hand lines to attack the fire, so they relied on aerial appliances until it was brought under control. Additional backup was then called, with Chester Hill, Ashfield, and Mortdale arriving at 5:45pm. Finally, at 10:20pm the fire was brought under control after a nearly 7 hour fight.

Factory fire at Beaconsfield Street Milperra, 21 April 1996 [Museum of Fire Collection]

The second incident of note occurred 6 August 1996 that a major fire engulphed the Condong Sugar Mill causing $40,000 in damage and losses. (Today that is equivalent to approximately $70,000).

At 4:02am Lismore fire control received the call of fire from the mill manager. The fire had broken out on the fourth and fifth floors and was quickly spreading.

Fire and Rescue NSW Station 391 Murwillumbah and Fire and Rescue NSW Station 347 Kingscliff were responded as well as Superintendent Ron Laing from Lismore.

The situation was complicated by the nature of the building and the possibility of a dust explosion. Despite this the team from Murwillumbah entered the factory wearing breathing apparatus while the crews from Kingscliff directed lines of hose onto the fire from outside the building.

Despite all of the obstacles in front of them the two crews managed to extinguish the fire in under two hours with the STOP message sent at 6:17am.

The factory was forced to close for 24 hours and for every hour the factory was closed that was an additional $1,000 lost. Despite this, though the damage was extensive it could have been worse, and the brigades were commended for their work in saving the rest of the plant and equipment. 

Crews inspect the damage after the fire, 6 August 1996 [Museum of Fire Collection]

~ Story by Museum of Fire Heritage Team