For more than a century, the dedicated and hard-working men and women of Werribee Fire Brigade have helped protect our community.
Since it was officially registered in January 1915, its members have faced fiery blazes across the length and breadth of the region, saving countless lives and risking their own to battle property and grassfires, as well as rescuing people trapped in horrific vehicle crashes.
They’ve been called upon to support their colleagues around the state and beyond during major emergencies, such as the 1983 Ash Wednesday and 2009 Black Saturday bushfires and the 1994 fires in New South Wales’ Blue Mountains.
This month, the brigade celebrates its 100th anniversary with events including a torchlight procession of brigades from across the state on January 24 and an open day at the station on February 28.
The brigade’s longest-serving active volunteer, Ken Heddle, who joined in 1961, says the crews are more than just colleagues – they are family.
“We used to go away together for running competitions and every Saturday night the ladies used to run dances here at the station,” he said.
“In my younger days, you either joined the footy club or the fire brigade.”
John Phillips signed up in 1965 as a way to make friends after moving from New South Wales and was part of the brigade’s running team.
The devastating 1969 Lara fire, which killed eight people on the Princes Highway and swept across Truganina, racing up as far as Kororoit Creek Road in Laverton, remains etched in his memory.
“I’ve never seen a grassfire move so fast,” he said.
“We couldn’t keep up; it was burning across ploughed paddocks.
“On Ash Wednesday, we were on the Calder Highway with 18 trucks and the fire jumped right over the top towards Mount Macedon. Nobody could believe it.”
Mr Phillips said the brigade had seen significant changes particularly in terms of technology, safety and equipment, which made today’s firefighting a far cry from when he started his career.
“In my early days, we stood on the back of the truck on our way to a fire with only a rail around us, so you needed to have confidence in your driver, especially going around corners,” he said.
“When I started, I worked in the main street and the only notification there was a fire was hearing the siren ring [at the station].
“We never had any firefighting gear, so we turned up to fires wearing whatever we had on that day. The brigade brought a lot of its own safety equipment – we set up a co-op using our houses as security to finance our first rescue truck. Eventually the loan was taken over and paid for by VFL [former Victorian Football League] Insurance.”
After more than 53 years tackling fires, First Lieutenant Darryl Wells, captain from 1976 to 2008 and father of current captain Michael Wells, said the job was still as rewarding as ever.
“We still have a saying ‘come home safe’ and it’s the last thing we say as we get out of the truck,” he said.
The torchlight procession starts on Watton Street, Werribee, from 8.30pm on January 24.
