Fire stories spanning 100 years
Mateship, manpower and memories
• Firefighters Colin Stagoll, Peter McLennan, Joseph Davis, Bob Barrett, Craig Walters and Jacqueline Webb.
By Taylor Clyne
February 10, 2021
The job of firefighting has come a long way in one hundred years, from seven-mile sirens to iPhones, wooden water carts to motorised vehicles and so much in between.
We take a look back at the history and unbelievable stories of the region's firefighting past as the Scottsdale Fire Brigade celebrates their centenary year.
Sitting down with an array of local volunteer fire fighters you get a sense of the mateship that’s formed through trust having worked together in, sometimes, life-threatening situations for the benefit of their community.
Brigade Chief Bob Barrett is a wealth of knowledge and support for the crews having lived and breathed the brigade organisation for over fifty years.
“There had been a lot of work since 1887 of people trying to get a fire brigade together and an unofficial brigade commenced in 1908,” he said.
“Any fire in the town before this the people just got together with buckets and did the best they could.”
The group went to the State Government for funding and to secure a gazetted area but were told that they would not be successful as the water main wasn’t up to standard, needing it to be at least a four inch main.
It took ten long years for the water to be upgraded and a further three years before the first official brigade with elected members were formed in 1921.
“They used to run with an old wooden cart, like a horse and cart but the firefighters were the horses,” Bob laughed.
“Sometimes when they were really on the run it would take 300 yards for them to be able to stop because it was loaded up with the hose and brass fittings.
“The weight of the cart made it hard to stop and there were no breaks on it.”
Cottage fires were more typical in those days with the use of kerosine lamps, candles and shingle roofs.
Looking back in the history written almost every second house in Scottsdale and Springfield had burnt down at some point.
“And if the neighbours weren’t around with a good well and bucket, they just expected them to burn so when the fire brigade came in it was a really big thing for the town,” Bob said.
“If there is a shortage of water, you forget about the house that is burning and try and save the exposures and the houses either side.
“In actual fact in Derby in the earlier days they had to actually pull down two perfectly good houses either side of the one that was burning, or they would have lost the town.”
“People just had to stand by while their house was being wrecked so that it couldn’t catch fire and the rest of the town was saved.”
“They sacrifice a little and save a lot.”
In 1949 the brigade was given a motorised Fargo and a BSA trailer pump which changed the game forever.
“It took a number of years of lobbying to get it, but it was probably the biggest change in history going from the hand cart to the petrol driven Fargo,” Peter McLennan said.
Back in those days everyone had a gazetted boundary and brigades were only allowed to go two hose lengths past their boundary.
There was an urban brigade which was the official Scottsdale Brigade and the Scottsdale Country Fire Brigade which was based down in the shed on Trevor Hookway’s place with a siren on a hydro pole that alerted the community.
“Scottsdale Country were all made up of farmers as they were practical with a lot of their own firefighting gear.
“They never had tankers either, so they relied on reticulated hoses and none of the urban trucks those days carried water they only had a pump and hose.
“We at times got into trouble because there might have been a fire at Springfield, but we couldn’t go as it was out of our gazetted area,” Bob remembers.
But after the devasting 1967 fire event in Tasmania laws changed and the two institutions were amalgamated in 1979-1980 to become a single fire service that we know today.
“We are the only state in Australia that has a single fire service, and I don’t exclude Parks and Wildlife or Sustainable Timbers out of that because they have their own independent fire services,” Bob said.
The standardised service across the state made for a seamless operation with crews, training and gear.
“Everything, as far as firefighting tactics, has been the same over the years but they’ve just gotten far better,” firefighter Craig Walters said.
“We had courses back in the earlier days that had non adjustive techniques like surround and drown whereas now we are trained to preserve water with our control.
“We are also protecting evidence when we are going in with the water, if the fire has been deliberately lit or there are suspicious circumstances than the fire investigator needs to come in and he needs to be able to track and trace it.
“If we go in there with 800l of water in 14 seconds, there’s not going to be a lot to track.
“With our training we can now enter a building and maybe put the fire out with a couple of short sharp dabs of water and everything can still be protected,” Craig said.
Over the years uniforms have also improved greatly with the old bluey coat, plastic leggings and gumboots being upgraded to extreme heat protectant attire that can withstand up to 600 degrees in temperatures.
Currently the brigade has 18 active members, its peak membership was back when the town had Simplot and the two mills operating.
“We’ve always found employers understand the importance of community service in firefighting, we’re lucky in that respect.”
Bob Barrett
50 years serving as Fire Chief
Mr Barrett’s impressive longevity as brigade chief is to be commended having taken on the role in 1978.
“It’s something that gets in your blood, it really does,” he said.
Looking back on his career he still remembers one of his very first fires.
“It was just out of town; this little cottage was well alight, and we’d been told there was supposed to be a heavily pregnant lady resting in the back corner of the house.
“We went in through the front door and the cottage was absolutely full of black smoke, I hadn’t done a lot of firefighting at that stage and it was a shock.
“You could only see a little way in front of you.
“Graeme Casboult was leading with the hose; he was feeling with his feet as he went.
“He felt a hole as he was going but didn’t turn around and tell me and I went straight through the floor.
“We got out after a bit of a struggle and later found out the lady was next door with the neighbour,” he said.
We’ve had some really big fires over my time and made some great friends along the way – it's a great thing to do for your community and be a part of.
• Peter McLennan with the brigade's original Fargo and hand cart.
Peter McLennan
Served 28 years
Mr McLennan joined the Scottsdale Fire Brigade because he had mates involved and it was a very social thing at the time.
“The biggest thing that I can remember was the fire event out at Auspine, that was a massive fire worth over a million dollars.
“What we did with our equipment was incredible and we saved about two thirds of it, which was quite astronomical.
“From that fire we were able to get some pretty good up to date equipment and vehicles because they realised the threat.”
Back in those days the sawmill was in the main street right where the Scottsdale Library is now.
The crews used to call French’s Mill their ‘training grounds’ as it caught on fire on such a regular basis.
Colin Stagoll
Served over 30 years
Two good friends of Mr Stagoll’s enticed him to join and help out his community, looking back on the stories of his service there had been a few.
“One of my major fires I attended would be at the Catholic Church in George Street when it burnt down as that was a log cabin with treated posts.
“Myself and Doug Pattison entered the building with a large hose and someone yelled, 'Look out!' and the whole wall just fell down on top of our hose.
“It was a pretty hairy situation, but we got out, got ourselves back together and re-entered the building.”
Craig Walters
Served 33 years
Mr Walters said he’s thoroughly enjoyed all aspects of the brigade and the learning and mateship that’s gone with it.
“Plus, there have been some interesting fires.
“When the Army Drill Hall burnt down in Alfred Street and Christopher Street, that was a ripper fire, the building was full of gear and it was on fire.
“Dale Jessup and myself headed in the door and were making our way through beautifully even though you couldn’t see far in front of yourself because of the smoke and it was hot.
“Next thing we knew our hose had completely run out of water, it was a bit of an ‘oh shit’ moment,” he said.
“We started going backwards as it was too hot, as we were retreating the wall on the left had side where we were negotiating had separated from the floor and we were about a foot away from falling through it.
“We got out, but it was hairy for a minute.
“In cases like that the adrenaline takes over, you can get wound up like a top and it takes a bit to come down.
“Every fire leaves a memory of some sort and every accident does too.”
Joseph Davis
Served 29 years
Mr Davis said he always had a fascination with pumps and flashing lights, so it was no surprise that he enlisted to be a firefighter.
“There’s been a couple of memorable fires,” he said.
“One was the stacker out at Auspine that was a pretty expensive fire.
“Another one we got called to Bridport in a structural fire, Craig [Walters] was by my side and it was just the vision of going into a fully emblazed house with your BA (breathing apparatus) gear on.
“Even today I can still remember the stairwell.
“We did an internal attack that day, it was a two-storey house with one of those old staircases that went straight up and very narrow.
“We aren’t small people and by the time you pull your gear on and you’re dragging a hose up the flames were going across the ceiling and were licking at the roof.
“It was mesmerizingly scary.
“It was really hot, and we were in two minds about whether we should keep going through.
“We were also searching that day for a dog and its puppies. Unfortunately we lost them, and we would never have found them where they were anyway – the fire was too intense.
“It’s good to know you have your mates behind you in situations like that.”
Jacqueline Webb
Served 30 years
“My father and uncle were firefighters, and my father was a man who believed women can do anything which is fantastic, so I kinda just followed in his footsteps.
“There is something about the adrenaline rush.
“I come from the Musselroe Brigade where there is more medicals and bushfires whereas here there seems to be a greater variety of fires,” she said.
“I’ve managed to embarrass myself by bogging a truck with three tonnes of water on it and “I’ve gotten lost trying to find a fire but it's all part of the fun,” she laughed.