The CFA will celebrate its 80th birthday in April. Chief officer Jason Heffernan has reflected on the organisation’s growth.
Photo by
Blair Dellemijn
The CFA will marks 80 years as an organisation on Wednesday, April 2 amid a bumper fire season.
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Since the Fire Danger Period began in October last year, crews across Victoria have responded to 4589 fire-related incidents, over 700 more than the same period in 2023/24.
Chief officer Jason Heffernan said the milestone season had been among the busiest in recent years.
“During the 2024/25 fire season, we’ve seen our members turn out for fire-related incidents over 67,000 times, so far,” he said.
“Eighty years on, the way we fight fires may have changed a little, but our core mission remains the same — to protect lives and property.”
Locally, there were 218 incidents from November 4 last year to March 30 this year, covering brigade areas from Cohuna to Kyabram.
Echuca saw the most call-outs during this period, followed by Kyabram and Rochester, with vegetation fires and motor vehicle incidents leading local incident responses.
The Fire Danger Period ends on Monday, April 7 in Campaspe and Gannawarra.
Dry conditions contributed to the many call-outs this fire season.
Photo by
Supplied
Across the state, dry conditions contributed to the total increase in incidents, with vegetation fires accounting for the majority of call-outs.
Other significant incident types included structure and vehicle fires, while preventable incidents involving escaped burn-offs, campfires and fire pits accounted for 807 call-outs.
Mr Heffernan said the landmark year was an opportunity to recognise the CFA’s important work, as well as its progress since being established eight decades ago.
“CFA has come a long way since its inception,” he said.
“Today, nearly 52,000 CFA members support communities across Victoria, not only through fire response but also in road crashes, rescues, floods and medical emergencies.
“Our members are the backbone of our organisation, a remarkable collection of highly skilled volunteers who step up and protect their community whenever called upon.”
While the Volunteer Brigade movement has been active in Victoria for over 170 years, the CFA was formally established following findings from the 1939 Black Friday Royal Commission.
Mr Heffernan said the state was a safer place thanks to the countless hours of service dedicated by CFA volunteers.
“We are excited and inspired to continue our work for another 80 years,” he said.
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