The Brigade Peninsula Brigade was formed in June 1985. It was the effect of a merger between Bonnells Bay and Morisset Park Bush Fire Brigades. These brigades merged because NSW Fire Brigades took over the responsibility of the growing township of Morisset from the Morisset Bush Fire Brigade. They also took over part of the Morisset Peninsula. [As a side note, some people refer to a Peninsular (notice the 'r') brigade back in the 60's. This brigade was based at Balcolyn, and with dwindling numbers was taken over by Bonnells Bay Bush Fire Brigade. ]
Our Area The brigade's area has a permanent population of 3000 with 1500 non-permanent. Residents are located in the towns of Balcolyn, Brightwaters, Mirrabooka, Silverwater, Sunshine and Yarrawonga Park on the Morisset Peninsula, as well as areas of Bonnells Bay, Morisset Park and Windermere Park. Dwellings consist of low to medium density housing, small hobby farms and larger properties. On the Morisset Peninsula there are:
A major component of the Peninsula brigade area is residential housing in clusters surrounding patches of medium timber on both crown and private land. The remainder consists of medium timber and grazing land.
Our Fire Season Because of where we are located and our role, our fire season lasts all year, with quiet periods thrown in. On average we receive around 100 calls per year. Bush fires make up 40% of our calls. Bush fires tend to occur from September to February. It's not uncommon to experience an early fire season around August to September, followed by wet conditions, then a further fire season from January to March. The brigade is often called away (or volunteers) for task forces / strike teams. We receive a high number of MVA's, due to the high population in the area, and the close proximity to the F3 freeway. We also attend structural fires, car fires, power lines down, oil spills, rubbish fires, trees down, and occasionally AFA's. We are the back up units for Dora Creek and Cooranbong, and sometimes Morisset NSW Fire Brigade. In a quiet month you could expect 4 fire calls, in a busy month we will see around 15 fire calls. Peninsula Station
Our station has the basic amenities. It's a two bay station with excellent views. It has an office, store room, toilet, shower, and a common room. It also stores an amount of replacement equipment. Junior Brigade This year Peninsula has joined with Dora Creek to make 1 big junior brigade. The new Central Cadets meets every Wednesday at 6pm for training. It is structured with it's own captain and is for children aged 12 - 16 years. Juniors/Cadets learn about fire fighting techniques and practise different types of drills, but don't actually go out on active fire grounds even though they have their own truck. When they turn 16, they are invited to join the active brigade as an ordinary fire fighter.
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