Darlington Volunteer Bush Fire Brigade

The ComCen will page our members who are on duty.

For general Brigade enquiries please ring 9299 7217. Station hours: Saturday 9am-10:30am. Web: darlingtonfire.org.au • Facebook: Darlington Volunteer Bush Fire Brigade • Instagram: dvbfb_

Next meeting: Tuesday, February 14, 2023, at the Darlington Fire Station.

Firstly, “Happy New Year” and a belated welcome to 2023. From the members of the Darlington Volunteer Bush Fire Brigade, we would like to wish all our community members a safe, happy, and prosperous year ahead.

With many large fires occurring across WA over the last couple of months, some threatening communities, they are a reminder that there is no reason to ignore the risks of fire, and the fire hazards present in our community. We encourage you to always be pro-active around your property by maintaining your firebreaks, keeping a 20-metre clearance zone around buildings, and reporting any sighting of smoke or fire immediately to 000. Keep informed about the new Fire Danger Ratings, fire bans, and alerts and warnings in your area. We recommend becoming familiar with, and using, EmergencyWA for all your official and current information. Also, take note of any suspicious activity in and around bushland and report it to Crimestoppers on 1800 333 000.

In September last year WA adopted the new Australian Fire Danger Rating System (AFDRS), so be aware of the new fire danger ratings and their messages. Moderate: Plan and prepare, High: Be ready to act, Extreme: Take action now to protect your life and property, and Catastrophic: For your survival, leave bushfire risk areas. Remember bushfires are unpredictable, and the single biggest killer is indecision. What will you do if there is a bushfire? How fireproof is your bushfire plan? Visit mybushfireplan.wa.gov.au and make a plan today.

Although we haven’t had many fires in the Darlington area, our volunteers have been busy attending incidents in other parts of the state. Crews from Darlington recently assisted at a fire in the Shire of DonnybrookBalingup (see photos by Randall Elkins and Michael Riddiough), as well as attending fires in Chittering, Glen Forrest, Maida Vale, Greenmount and Bushmead.

DFES have again this year delivered us additional appliances for summer, and you may have seen our extra trucks around the station. One truck is a 2.4, can carry five fire fighters and holds 2000 litres of water, the other is a second Light Tanker for fast attack, carrying two fire fighters and holding 500 litres of water.

Even with the onset of the fire season our volunteer fire fighters have been continuing with their training to help protect our community. Activities such as monthly training nights, skills refresher training, appliance familiarisations and driver training, and hose drills help our fire fighters prepare. Our members have volunteered many hours behind the scenes in recent months to be ready to help the community this summer. If you would like any information on bushfire preparedness, property protection, warning information, Bush Fire Ready groups, or how to volunteer with us; please visit the station on a Saturday morning between 9am and 10.30am.

We would once again like to thank all the families that came out and supported our Santa Run before Christmas. The Brigade loved driving Santa around Darlington to visit our wonderful community, and we really appreciate the positive feedback we received.

“What is a firefighter? He’s the guy next door… He’s a guy like you and me with warts and worries and unfulfilled dreams. Yet he stands taller than most of us. He’s a fireman… A fireman is at once the most fortunate and least fortunate of men. He’s a man who saves lives because he has seen too much destruction. He’s a gentle man because he has seen the awesome power of violence out of control. He doesn’t preach the brotherhood of man. He lives it.” ~ Author Unknown

Ricky Harvey