SA Country Fire Service Promotions Unit - History Section
Promoting the Historical foundations of the Service

Aldinga Beach Brigade - 1968 to Present

The Aldinga Beach CFS has just celebrated its 40th year of operation in 2008.

It started out in 1968 as Aldinga Beach & Area Emergency Fire Service (EFS), was a single shed station on what is now John Nicholl Reserve at Storey Ave Aldinga Beach, built by volunteer labour of the original members.

The other brigades in the area at the time - the Aldinga Plains EFS, which was based in what is now the ambulance station, behind the old post office building in Aldinga, was regarded to be unable to handle the load of both the plains and beach areas at the time.

As the area grew a second appliance was added, both snuggled into a single station. This gave the brigade both light and heavy attack 4WD bush and scrub fire fighting capabilities, with an International truck carrying a 2000 litre tank and a Toyota light attack vehicle.

During the 1980s vehicle accident rescue was the role of the SA Police Rescue based at Thebarton barracks and Metro Fire Brigade Rescue, based at Marion station. Turnout times for vehicle accidents we horrific in the area with and hour not being uncommon. It was felt therefore that a closer unit needed to be setup. The brigade members took it upon themselves to get support for a rescue unit in the area. They eventually received a donated light truck cab-chassis and a set of hand pump operated Enerpac rescue tools from Port Stanvac oil refinery. Members then industriously set about building up the vehicle with storage cupboards etc, and become operational. Training was done with the assistance of the Police Rescue Unit. This allowed much quicker responses to local road crashes between Old Noarlunga and Cape Jervis and in many cases the equipment, though light by modern standards, was enough to free trapped motorists for ambulance extraction. If heavier equipment was need much of the work had been done by the time the responding police or MFS unit arrived. Further fund raising and donations allowed the brigade to gradually upgrade the equipment to a motorised pump-driven, heavy duty, Hurst equipment used by SAPOL at the time, establishing the brigade as a heavy rescue unit, which it still continues to be today. A second shed was also built on the station site to house the three appliances.

At about this time also (early 1980's) the light attack Toyota was replaced with a second large appliance with structure Firefighting capabilities to cope with the increasing development of housing in the area. The brigade also established an all women day time crew to cover the area when the husbands were away at work. For this reason our new International Acco structure pumper mentioned above had an automatic transmission as it felt this would make it easier for the lady driver to handle. The day crew worked well, although some of the women may not have had the physical strength of the men, they coped with the task by acting as a team and their first "baptism of fire", a fire in the Aldinga Scrub, brought praise from neighbouring brigades, landowners and the local press. Children were looked after by the CWA ladies who came to the station when the siren went off.

The Brigade also adopted the use of Breathing Apparatus during that era. It purchased two sets and extra cylinders and received training from MFS personnel and the BA company representatives as BA was not used by CFS in those days. This led to problems in that empty cylinders had to be refilled at a dive shop in Christies Beach so the brigade grabbed the opportunity of purchasing a second hand compressor and finished up becoming the filling station for not only other brigades in the district as BA became more widely used but also for other brigades further south. The Aldinga Beach Station with its two sheds was very crowded place with 3 appliances plus a BA compressor. (There was even a canoe in the ceiling of the old shed which had been nicknamed "Marine 1".)

When the 4WD pumper was due to be replaced, members knew from the specs that the old shed would not be high enough to cope with the height of the new Hino vehicle we would be getting. Negotiations therefore commenced with Willunga Council to get our old shed raised in height. This dragged on for over 12 months without result and when we were due to take delivery of the new unit, we had nowhere to house it. The new Hino therefore spent some months stored at Lawrie and Kay Wickes shed at Sellicks. (They were members of Sellicks brigade and had a semitrailer.) The brigade continued using the Acco at this time.

Eventually the CFS board stepped in and decided to build the brigade a new station and relocate. Negotiations the occurred for over 12 months with the CFS Board and Council to get a new 4 bay station. During that time the government changed and the finalised negotiations fell through. The new Government would only build a 3 bay station meaning we could not house all our equipment. Through the intervention of our local MP at the time, Lorraine Rosenberg, a 4 bay station was eventually built with 1 bay and part of the station facilities devoted to the St. John Ambulance volunteers. The group's BA compressor trailer had to be relocated in McLaren Vale station.

The Aldinga Beach CFS has had a unique history of innovation and forward thinking. BA & Rescue capabilities are some examples along with early use of technology and cadet training schemes. It has been important not only to the district but the state as a whole with involvement in major incidents out of the area including Ash Wednesday, Multiple Kangaroo Island and other task force deployments as well as the Sydney bushfires in latter years. Many members have gone on to leadership roles in the state wide CFS organisation.

Compiled in 2008 by Kevin L Hutton - Aldinga Beach CFS Life Member

This information has been sourced from the Brigade website at this address

Brigade Stations

1996 to Present - Cnr How Road and Aldinga Beach Road, Aldinga Beach
Photographer, CFS Promotions Unit - May 2011
Google Map reference - Latitude -35.278028 / Longitude 138.471558

1968 to 1996 - Storey Avenue, Aldinga Beach
Photographer, Aldinga Beach CFS - 1980's
Google Map reference - Latitude -35.284144 / Longitude 138.447405
Comments: John Nicholl Reserve, Second shed added 1984

Storey Avenue, Aldinga Beach
Photographer, CFS Promotions Unit - Jun 2013

Brigade Plaques

Station Opening Plaque, front of station, Cnr How Road and Aldinga Beach Road, Aldinga Beach
Photographer, CFS Promotions Unit - June 2013
Google Map reference - Latitude -35.278028 / Longitude 138.471558