Katoomba Blue Mountains Fire Brigade. Katoomba History, Katoomba Blue Mountains NSW Australia

Katoomba Fire Brigade 1909

KATOOMBA FIRE BRIGADE

1909 - 2003

On the 24th March, 1909, Katoomba's first fire station was officially opened by the Chairman of the Metropolitan Fire Brigades Board. The station and equipment, which consisted of a manual reel and two hundred feet of hose, had been paid for by Katoomba Council, while the Brigade was manned by Captain Pannell and twelve volunteer firefighters.

Two years later, when the New South Wales Fire Brigades assumed responsibility for the local Brigade, the council kept the fire station building and the Brigade was forced to move into an old stable in Cascade Street. By January 1913, the members of the Brigade had grown tired of working in a building that ' failed to keep out either wind or rain' and the entire Brigade submitted their resignations in an attempt to force the Board of Fire Commissioners to keep its promise to build a new fire station.

With no volunteer firefighters available, the New South Wales Fire Brigades was forced to send two permanent firefighters, Tuck and Hoptroft, from Sydney to man the station, although the newly resigned volunteers continued to assist Tuck and Hoptroft at any fires.

After the fire at the Hydro Majestic the Brigade was visited by the Chief Officer of the New South Wales Fire Brigades, who decided that the accommodation at the station was substandard. To solve this problem a second storey, which contained officers quarters, was built on top of the existing building, while on the ground floor a recreation room was added at the rear of the station, with a full size billiard table, previously from Circular Quay Fire Station, being installed in this room. The new extensions were officially opened on the 28th August, 1923, by the President of the Board of Fire Commissioners.

Since that time the fire station building has remained relatively unchanged, however the station staffing has gradually changed over the years. In the 1950s the number of professional Station Officers attached to the station was increased from one to four, to give a round the clock presence. In October 1977 the first four permanent firefighters were appointed and this number has gradually increased until today's professional strength of a Station Officer and three Firefighters on each of the four shifts was attained, while fourteen Retained Firefighters are on call to provide an instant back up to the permanent staff.

The resignation of the volunteers had the desired effect and in April 1913 the Board of Fire Commissioners submitted to Katoomba Council the plans for a new, two storey fire station, to be built in Parke Street.

However, council considered a two storey station to be ' too elaborate and involving too much expenditure' and they refused to accept the plans, forcing the Board to design a single storey station as a replacement. This meant that construction of the new station did not commence until January 1914.

Designed by Spain, Cosh and Dods, the principal architects to the Board of Fire Commissioners during this period, the new station at 17 Parke Street opened in June 1914, apparently without any fanfare. Having cost two thousand pounds to build, the station consisted of an engine room, which was separated from the adjoining watchroom by a brass railing, while behind the watchroom were a single roomed 'bachelor's quarters' for the officer in charge.

In the drill yard behind the station was an eighty foot high steel tower with a lookout platform sixty feet above the ground. On top of the tower was a flag pole while the tower could also be used for drying hose.

In August 1922 the Brigade fought what the Blue Mountain Echo described as ' the most disastrous fire on record in the history of the Blue Mountains'. On the 18th of that month the Brigade was called to a fire in the Hydro Majestic at Medlow Bath and when they arrived they discovered the entire western wing of the motel alight. A strong westerly wind was also pushing the fire into the casino and eastern wing, however, in spite of a lack of water pressure, they were able to stop the fire spreading into the undamaged parts of the Hydro.

However the role of Katoomba Fire Brigade was to not only protect the community from building fires, but bushfires as well. Only four months after the Hydro Fire, in December 1922, a series of bushfires would threaten Katoomba, striking first at Mort Street, then Katoomba Falls and finally Narrow Neck.

On each occasion, Station Officer Barnaby and the Brigade's Volunteer Firefighters, with no further assistance, would save these areas of Katoomba.

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