Gidgegannup Info

Gidgegannup is a township 40 kilometres northeast of Perth. The name Gidgegannup comes from a Noongar word meaning “Place where spears are made”, and was first recorded by passing surveyors in 1852.

The East Gidgegannup Volunteer Bushfire Brigade has been in operation in one form or another since the early 1960s.

The Brigade is registered with the City of Swan and operates under the authority of the City’s Chief Bush Fire Control Officer, in accordance with a Memorandum of Understanding between the City of Swan and the Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES).

The much anticipated upgrade to the Fire Station commenced on the 1st of May 2017, and after a major renovation and expansion, it was officially opened by the Deputy Mayor, Councillor Kevin Bailey on the 25th of November 2017. The Station now proudly bears the name, The East Gidgegannup Volunteer Bush Fire Station. The rebuild has meant that the Station is now fully equipped to house 5 Fire Appliances, and boasts a modern Kitchen, Meeting Room, Permit and Communications Office. The upgrade has meant that our requirements as a Brigade servicing the Community are met for many years to come.

The East Gidge Brigade covers an area of 333.5 square kilometres, which is bordered in the west by Stoneville and Reserve Roads, to the north as far as the Avon River Valley, to the east out past Utah Road and then to the south we share a boundary with Wooroloo, Chidlow, Mt Helena and Stoneville Volunteer Bush Fire Brigades. This is a very large area, for one small rural brigade to cover, with many substantial land holdings, with some consisting of hundreds of acres.

With the risk from bush fires increasing with each year, we as a community need to be more vigilant and proactive in the prevention and control of fires in our own patch. It is imperative that every home and property owner becomes increasingly more bushfire-ready.

East Gidge Brigade is the front line defence against bush fires in our area.

The Brigade is led by our Captain, Sean Corbin, who is also a City of Swan Deputy Chief Bush Fire Control Officer (DCBFCO). The Brigade is split up into 4 crews of approximately 10-12 active members, in addition to a lieutenant and a FCO – Fire Control Officer.

The 4 crews rotate through an ongoing weekly roster, which covers the 9 high risk months of the year. However, they remain available all year round.

In addition to the active crews, there are also approximately 16 reserve members and 6 auxiliary members, which give East Gidgegannup Volunteer Bush Fire Brigade approximately 66 members.

Some of the active members take the opportunity during the wet season to complete additional training through the DFES Academy, the City of Swan & Mundaring Fire Training establishments.

burning restrictions & permits

Permits for the Restricted Burning Periods
• Oct 1st until Nov 30th &
• April 1st until May 31st
are usually only issued at the Gidgegannup Fire Station between 8:30am and 10:00am on a Saturday morning. During these periods you are not permitted to burn without a burning permit.  This year, as a result of the COVOD-19 Pandemic, permits for the Spring 2020 Restricted Burning Period will also be issued electronically by the City of Swan Community Safety Officers.  Please call the City on 08 9267 9267 or Google Search the City of Swan website for more information.

The Prohibited Burning Period is in effect from
• Dec 1st until March 31st.

All burning is prohibited on days of Very High or above Fire Danger Ratings and whenever a Total Fire Ban or a Harvest and Vehicle Movement Ban have been declared. Restricted and Prohibited Period dates may be altered according to seasonal conditions, these changes will be advertised.

Fire breaks and hazard reduction requirements

Fire breaks and hazard reduction measures must be installed by Nov 2nd and maintained until April 30th.

membership

Anyone living in the vicinity of East Gidgegannup is welcome to join the Brigade. All they require is to be reasonably fit, and be able to provide a police clearance.

All training is provided and each member of the Brigade is supplied all necessary personal protective clothing (PPC) which includes clothing, boots and helmet as provided by the City of Swan, through funds allocated from the Emergency Services Levy.

Individuals, who are available to turn out to fire incidents during the working week, are particularly welcome.

Light Tanker / Rapid Response Vehicle

fire training

New members are required to complete 2 x full weekends of formal training, in addition to regular monthly training activities organised by the Training Officer.

Members are also required to assist with hazard reduction burns, special training & Brigade events.

Ongoing higher level training is available to those members who have accrued the required experience and who wish to progress to Senior Brigade positions. Members are also required to assist with hazard reduction burns, special training & Brigade events.

For Brigade, membership and training enquiries, a message may be left by phoning the East Gidgegannup Volunteer Bush Fire Brigade Station on 9574 6000 (not manned) or by ringing the rostered lieutenants duty phone on 0428 959 083 (manned 24/7).

appliances

The East Gidge Brigade currently has 4 full-time Fire Appliances on standby all year round:

• 2 x Landcruiser Light Tankers (Rapid Response Vehicles), each with a water capacity of 550 litres
• 1 x 1.4 Truck with a water capacity of 1,500 litres
• 1 x 12.2 Truck with a water capacity of 12,000 litres

The Brigade is also allocated an additional heavy appliance during the high fire season by DFES to bolster our fire fighting capabilities.

High Season Appliance

response

During the Fire Season, a roster is in place where sufficient members are on call to crew the appliances. These members are allocated pagers to alert them to the threat of fire in the area. This is supplemented by individual phone calls for relief crews if, as is often the case with larger fires, multiple shifts are required.

The East Gidge Brigade work closely with West Gidge Brigade, with both Brigades turning out to fires in each other’s response area.

Members are also alerted to fire callouts and messages through the (Bart) system – Broadcast. Alert. Respond. Turnout.

The main social events on the Brigade calendar are the Gidge Show Day and the Small Farm Field Day where members of the Brigade assist with crowd control at the gates and the directing of visitors at the Show Grounds.

The Brigade also holds open days, where members of the community are invited to attend the station to receive current updates and information on the upcoming fire season and how to prepare and maintain their properties and homes against the treat of a fire. These are generally held prior to the official beginning of the fire season in August.

The Brigade AGM is also usually held in August at the Fire Station.

The Big Girl – 12.2

in case of a fire, please ring 000

In case of a fire, please ring 000 in the first instance.

For Brigade, membership and training enquiries, a message may be left by phoning the East Gidgegannup Volunteer Bush Fire Brigade Station on 9574 6000 (not manned) or by ringing the rostered lieutenants duty phone on 0428 959 083 (manned 24/7).

East Gidge Fire Brigade (2003)