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

Naracoorte Brigade - 1947 to Present

The Naracoorte CFS Brigade was formed way back in 1946 under the banner of the then Emergency Fire Service, and was manned primarily by District Council employees, as the truck was kept at the Council depot. It wasn't until the mid 1970s when Peter Ferris, an ex Eden Hills brigade member moved into the area and took on the role of Brigade Captain that the brigade really started to move forward.

The Seventies

The brigade at that time consisted of only 5 members, and the first social function was a working bee to dig out the floor of an old shed abutting the Council depot so that the truck would fit. This shed was about 25ft x 15ft in size and was to become our fire station. The radio room at this time was a small 7ft x 10ft room adjacent to the council`s spare parts store, and it wasn`t long, and after a lot of lobbying, that we managed to relocate the spare parts store, and that room then became our social room.

After about 18 months the brigade had grown to about 15 members and we were including more family functions into our calendar. One of the first was a pre-fire season breakfast, which is still held to this day. The first breakfast started at 7.00am, and you had to come in your pajamas, which wasn`t a very good sight at that time on a Sunday morning, and did not finish until late afternoon.

The brigade was becoming a family brigade, so much so, that the wives decided to form a ladies committee to raise funds for equipment that council would not supply. One of the first items purchased were black woolen turn-out coats for all operational members. The ladies committee is still going today under the banner of Operational Support Committee, and over the years has raised many thousands of dollars for the brigade. This money has been spent on extra operational equipment, as well as helping to fit out our new station with incidentals such as air conditioners, blinds, television and refrigerator. The ladies have also assisted our band of cadets to attend competitions by supplying funds for accommodation and food.

In about 1979 we decided to become involved with the State Emergency Service. All members became joint members of both services with officers holding comparable rank in both services. This arrangement continued until 1991 when due to various reasons including duplication of meetings and training, the members voted to disband the SES Unit. All SES equipment stationed at Naracoorte was returned to SES headquarters, and was subsequently reissued to other South East SES units.

The Eighties

In 1980 the Naracoorte brigade started attending the CFS firefighting competitions and has attended every Region 5 and state competition since. The brigade was judged the best CFS brigade in the state in 1985 and 1987. The Naracoorte cadets have been the state champions 3 times and are regularly placed in the top three. Once again the brigade treats the trips to the competitions as a family outing, by hiring a bus to transport the competitors and their families with all staying in the one location. The funds for these trips are generally raised by brigade fundraising.

1985 saw the CFS take over responsibility of all fire related issues within the township of Naracoorte from the Metropolitan Fire Service. The Corporation of the Town Of Naracoorte, who wanted one fire service in this area, had lobbied for two to three years for this to happen. The Corporation believed that with the equipment the CFS had, they could adequately handle all emergencies in this area. The CFS brigade had an operational membership of 25 at this time, with the MFS having 6.

The Nineties

In 1992 after much lobbying of the local councils and the South Australian Country Fire Service the brigade moved from its station on the eastern border of the town to our new station in Smith Street.

In September 1997 the Naracoorte CFS brigade celebrated 50 years of serving the community by holding a 50th anniversary dinner. The dinner was attended by the CEO of the CFS as well as dignitaries from state and local government. Guest speaker for the night was Mr. Murray Nichols who may be remembered for his live on air commentary of his house burning down on Ash Wednesday. The weekend of functions ended with a breakfast and recovery held at the fire station on Sunday.

1998 the brigade was awarded a grant of three thousand dollars by BankSA to purchase a Larkin Rescue Frame, this was also the year the Crows won back to back premierships, and one of our illustrious officers wowed onlookers with his results of his Crows bet under the Town Clock.

The New Millenium

2001 saw a team of firefighters from Naracoorte along with many others attend the large fires on Kangaroo Island. Our new Rescue appliance arrived in May and was tasked to 10 incidents before it was officially commissioned. 2001 also saw the brigade attend the first white powder incident to occur in this state, this was at Millicent, then the very next night we were called to another one at Penola.

In 2001-2002, the brigade sent firefighters as well as our 34 appliance to once again assist with fires in Sydney. The day crew in Sydney comprised 4 firefighters from Morphettvale brigade, teamed with 2 from Naracoorte led by Captain Allan Marshall, the night crew was all Naracoorte led by 1st Lt Shane Francis.

In 2003 the brigade was again awarded a grant, This time the National Bank chose Naracoorte Brigade as the best Emergency services organization in the state and awarded us seven thousand dollars. Because of this, Allan Marshall and David Ghezzi were invited to attend the National Bank Volunteer Awards in Sydney to represent the SA Emergency Services.

In June 2004 our new 34 appliance was delivered, as well as the brigade invited to star in the ABC documentary entitled Local Heroes. Various members took part in a days filming for this documentary which was shown throughout South East Asia.

In 2005, as a result of Allan Marshall resigning as Naracoorte Captain at the AGM, the brigade held its first ever actual election to choose a new Captain. The election between David Ghezzi and Darren Murray, saw Darren elected as the new Captain, a position he held for 4 years before resigning.

The brigade was saddened to learn of the sudden passing of former member and brigade officer Chris Rendell. Chris was affectionately known as Runty and had originally been with the Enfield SES before moving to Naracoorte as a technical officer with the Highways Department. Chris was an avid rock climber and was the instigator behind the brigade becoming involved with Cave and High Altitude rescues.

2009 After nominations from Shane Smith and Allan Marshall for the position of Captain, Allan Marshall was elected, with Shane Smith duly elected as 1st Lieutenant.

In March of 2010 we received a new 34P appliance, with our 34 appliance transferred to Beachport brigade. This year also saw the brigade and group lease the block of land beside the fire station and start to build a small training area complete with paving and imitation grass. After a down turn in members over the past few years, this year has seen the brigade obtain several new members with attendances at Friday training at a healthy average of 15.

This information has been sourced from the Naracoorte CFS Website at www.naracoortefireandrescue.net.au

Brigade Stations

1992 to Present - Smith Street, Naracoorte
Photographer, CFS Promotions Unit - Dec 2010
Google Map reference - Longitude 140.738446 Latitude -36.956901

Captains

Life Members