Research CFA

The date for the 2012 Run for the Firies event is now available, this year it will be held on the 14th of October and will be held at the Eltham North Soccer fields.
The run is a combined fundraiser between the Research and Kangaroo Ground Fire Brigades. For detailed information on the event, an information flyer will soon be available to download.

More information can be found here: http://www.runforthefiries.com/
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Based upon the current and forecasted weather conditions it has been decided that the CFA will lift fire restrictions on Monday 19th March for the municipalities of:

• Wyndham City Council
• Melton Shire Council
• Hume City Council
• Whittlesea Shire Council
• Nillumbik Shire Council
• Banyule City Council

This means residents within these councils can perfom burnoffs on their property without a council permit as long as the conditions meet their local council bylaws.

Nillumbik has some handy new fire fighting capability, thanks to the hard work of Research CFA volunteers and the generosity of the local community.The local brigade has just taken delivery of a new ultralight tanker, and Research CFA Captain Neville Stewart says it is just what the district needs. “We learned from the fires of 2009 that a light firefighting vehicle like this would be just what we need in an area like Nillumbik, with its forested hills and valleys,” Captain Stewart said.

“The four wheel drive vehicle is faster on the road and much more agile in rough country than a conventional tanker, so it is ideal for getting quickly to a spot fire, knocking it down and moving on to the next one,” he said.“And in residential areas, it is ideal for things like back yard rubbish fires, because you can drive in and go to straight work instead of having to run hoses from a full sized tanker in the street.”

The ultralight tanker is a Nissan Patrol utility, equipped with a 500 litre water tank, pumps, equipment lockers and the capability to use Class A Foam, a wetting agent that makes water stick to surfaces so it is much more effective at smothering a grass or scrub fire.

Along with the training required to keep their professional firefighting skills up to date, the Brigade’s 45 volunteers have been hard at work raising the $58,000 needed to match government funding for the new appliance.

“We would like to thank the State Government, the CFA and all of the members of the community who attended our regular market or bought a snag at a sausage sizzle, you all helped to get this ultralight tanker on the road,” Captain Stewart said.

In recent years, the volunteers of Research CFA have attended between 60 and 120 emergency calls a year, and are famous for the annual Run for the Firies fun run, conducted in conjunction with the Research and Kangaroo Ground brigades.

Run For The Firies is on again!!!

It is a combined fund raiser between Research and Kangaroo Ground Fire Brigades to be held on October 16th 2011 at 9am. For detailed information on the event, an information flyer will soon be available to download.

More information can be found here:   http://www.runforthefiries.com/

You can join the Run for the Firies Facebook community at http://www.facebook.com/RunForTheFiries.

Our brigade has been given approval to purchase what is called a ‘slip on’ fire fighting appliance (or Ultra Light Tanker). This is a 4WD Nissan Patrol with a water tank, pump, hoses and fittings on the back. This appliance can be quickly and easily responded by any member with a car licence and reach locations quicker and easier than our current tankers.

Thanks to the communities generosity in helping us raise $57000, we have recently been successful in securing funding for the remaining money via the Victorian governments CSESP grants.

This will supply us with an operational vehicle but we will still need to purchase extras like mobile phones, GPS unit, extra torches, portable radio, etc, so it is not too late to help out. If you would like to make a donation to this appeal, please follow the below link for further information and donation methods as part of the Nillumbik Shire Councils ‘ourcommunity’ program.