By Oliver Winn
CFAs all over the state celebrated 80 years of fighting fires and supporting Victorians on 2 April, with brigades throughout the Yarra Ranges taking a moment to reflect on its history within the community.
Lilydale CFA’s history goes far beyond the establishment of the Country Fire Authority (CFA) in 1945, as far back as 1887 when it was called the Lilydale Volunteer Fire Brigade.
Lilydale CFA first lieutenant Ron Haines said the brigade was then officially registered as a part of the Country Fire Brigade Board (CFBB) in 1905, before the CFA formed in 1945.
Ex-captain at Lilydale CFA, Frank Whelan, joined the Lilydale CFA in 1961 and is still a firefighter to this day.
Through the stories Mr Haines and Mr Whelan told of fighting some of Victoria’s biggest fires, they both outline the invaluable role the CFA played in protecting the community.
Mr Haines said he vividly remembers the Ash Wednesday fires, where he fought the wild Warburton fire and protected the lives of evacuated residents hiding inside of a pipeline at the Upper Yarra Reservoir.
“We took our tanker to Warburton right up to Reefton and I remember going right up [to the dam] where a lot of the residents evacuated,” Mr Haines said.
“I vividly remember, they all got in the big pipeline up in the tunnel at the Upper Yarra Reservoir, and when I got up there I couldn’t believe how many people were in the tunnel.”
Mr Whelan said Mr Haines’ efforts “basically saved the day”, as he was in charge of a number of tankers that joined together to protect the residents sheltering in the dam tunnel.
Out of the eight main Ash Wednesday bushfires that wreaked havoc on Victoria, the Warburton fire was one of the two where no one died.
“They looked after those people until the fire had passed and it was safe again,” Mr Whelan said.
Montrose CFA volunteer and lifelong resident Eddie Tichelaar joined the Montrose CFA as a junior member when he was only 14 years old in 1977.
He said Montrose CFA was formed in 1938, but the brigade was “severely hampered” at the time of the 1939 Black Friday bushfires due to a lack of resources.
In 1962, the first lieutenant, Ted Adams acquired Montrose CFA’s first siren from the back of a police motorbike, and fashioned it to the top of a pine tree in his backyard.
Mr Tichelaar said the fire station built in 1984 is the same one used to this day.
The CFA’s establishment brought together many small rural fire brigades who were around before the official formation in 1945.
Now, 52,000 members proudly serve over 1200 CFAs all over Victoria.
