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

Tailem Bend Brigade - 1959 to Present

Tailem Bend 24P  - Bella Isuzu was delivered to the Brigade in 2004 to replace the 24P unit (below) that was delivered in 1998. The "P" denotes additional pump capacity and this unit has a 500 GPM pump. This unit features two 60 metre 25mm rubber hose reels, full urban kit including 4 breathing apparatus sets and a full Lucas Road Crash Rescue stowage kit. This unit was built by Mills Tui in Brisbane, Queensland and was the first (and only, at this stage) dual cab appliance delivered to the Brigade.

Tailem Bend A24 - As with all the SA Country Fire Service fleet, the "2" denotes 2000 litre water capacity and the "4" denotes 4 wheel drive. This appliance, built in the Country Fire Authority Workshops, Ballarat, was given the A (alpha) appendage due to the Brigade owing two "24" type appliances at the time it was delivered in 1990. This is now our lead rural appliance with it's 300 GPM GAAM pump. At the time of delivery it was our lead structural and special service (including road crash rescue) unit. It was built as a "special" meaning that it has storage lockers down both sides of the unit unlike the more common build of the time which has a work deck running all of the way down the driver side to the pump (seen below). You can see that the striping is of the older style prior to the service utilising the familiar emergency services chequered pattern.

Tailem Bend 24P (mark one) The unit pictured right was commissioned by the Tailem Bend Brigade in 1998. It came with a Waterous 500 GPM pump which was a significant change from Pinnaroothe standard GAMM 300 which was predominant at the time. After the prototype this was one of the first of this type of appliance delivered in the State. It replaced Tailem Bend A24's (above) sister appliance Tailem Bend 24 (below). This unit was refurbished at that time and relocated to Pinnaroo where she is still in service.

Picture by Promotions Unit Tailem Bend 24 - This beauty (pictured left in the Flinders Ranges) served the Brigade faithfully from when it was delivered in 1990 to when it was relocated to Narrung in 1998. It was driven to NSW in 1994 as part of the major SACFS interstate tasking. Crews were required to leave the appliance interstate where it was worked around the clock for two weeks.

When the two sister appliances Tailem Bend 24 and Tailem Bend A24 were delivered in 1990 they replaced an Inter 510 with a hole in the water tank and a defected Bedford that had spent years in the Northern Territory as a tip truck. The arrival of the new appliances saw the road crash rescue equipment being stowed on an appliance for the first time. Prior to this it was stowed on a trailer which was towed by private vehicle to the scene.

The Old F100 (aprox 1966)

Blitz

This information has been sourced from theBrigade Website

Brigade Stations

? to Present - 50 Railway Tce, Tailem Bend
Photographer, CFS Promotions Unit - Mar 2011
Google Map reference - Longitude 139.457484 Latitude -35.256510

Captains

Life Members