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Public meeting to showcase the new Riddells Creek Township Protection Plan - 2/05/2012 Residents from Riddells Creek are invited to have their say on bushfire planning in Riddells Creek. A town meeting will take place on Wednesday 9th May from 6pm to 7.30pm at the Riddells Creek Senior Citizens hall, Main Road, Riddells Creek.
This will be an opportunity for the community members from Riddells Creek to have an input into the localised fire risks and issues that affect Riddells Creek. Township Protection Plans (TPP's) are a key source of bushfire risk and planning information for the community and during the past two years, CFA have prepared over 225 unique Township Protection Plans for those towns in Victoria which are located in high bushfire risk areas. CFA have recently developed a draft copy of the Township Protection Plan for Riddells Creek and we are now seeking your feedback and input into the design of the plan.
A light supper will be provided and for more information or to register your attendance, please contact Melissa at CFA on 1800 735 202. Further information about Victoria's Township Protection Plans can be found here at the CFA website. Pilot lucky to be alive after plane crash in Riddells Creek - 17/04/2012 A 66 year old pilot is lucky to be alive after his ultralight plane
crashed into a remote gorge near Riddells Creek this afternoon. Firefighters from the Riddells Creek Fire Brigade were called to the
reported plane crash near Websters Road shortly after 1.45pm today after an eyewitness reported seeing
the plane plummet from around 1000ft in the air and crash into a
steep gorge south of Riddell Airfield. It is believed the home-made,
single-seater aircraft had just taken off from the Riddell Airfield
only moments earlier. On arrival at the airfield, emergency service personnel desperately tried
to locate the scene of the crash site and before long, the wreck was
located on the south side of the gorge near Palmers Road. Accessing
the crash site from the north side of the gorge would prove to be
difficult so in order to reach the scene as quickly as possible, the
Sunbury Fire Brigade were called upon to approach the crash from the
south. Vehicle access to the crash site was also limited due to the steep, rocky
terrain and the likelihood that the larger emergency vehicles could
become bogged in the softer ground conditions near the bottom of the
gorge. To overcome the access issues and to reduce the risk of fire,
an Ultralight Tanker from the Bullengarook Fire Brigade was
responded. “This incident highlights the challenge of responding to aircraft
accidents in difficult terrain. After encountering some difficulty
while trying to locate the crash site, we were limited in the type
of vehicles that could access the site” said Lieutenant Martin
Leitch from the Riddells Creek Fire Brigade.
CFA, SES, Police and Ambulance personnel worked together to free the pilot from the wreckage before
treating the 66 year old for head and wrist injuries. The patient
was then flown to the Royal Melbourne Hospital in a serious but
stable condition. Lieutenant Leitch added “This incident was a
great example of how seamlessly the emergency services can work
together towards achieving a common goal. In this case we had a
successful result with the pilot surviving what could have been a
very serious accident”. Riddell Airfield is one of two major airfields which are located within the response area serviced by the Riddells Creek Fire Brigade. Given the high number of aircraft which fly into and out of these airfields each year, firefighters from the Riddells Creek Fire Brigade are all too familiar with responding to aircraft incidents. Over the years, there have been several serious aircraft crashes in the area and as such, a number of firefighters from the brigade received specialist aircraft-accident training during 2009. (Photos below are courtesy of the Macedon Ranges Weekly)
Smoke alarm saves family from Gisborne house fire - 12/04/2012 Firefighters from the Riddells Creek Fire Brigade were called upon to assist the Gisborne, Macedon and Sunbury Fire Brigades at a large house fire in Bruce Court Gisborne at around 6am this morning. A Gisborne family of 4 were lucky to escape unharmed thanks to the working smoke alarm which alerted them to the fire.
When firefighters arrived at the scene, the house was fully consumed by fire and flames could be seen coming through the roof of the building. Unfortunately there was little that CFA crews could do to save the double storey home.
Firefighters remained on scene throughout the morning to extinguish the remaining hotspots and to assist with the investigation into the cause of the fire.
(Photo courtesy of the Herald Sun)
Riddells Creek Fire Brigade helps raise money for Royal Children's Hospital - 6/04/2012 Volunteer firefighters from the Riddells Creek Fire Brigade helped to raise over $1800 towards this years Royal Children's Hospital Good Friday Appeal. Volunteers today gave up their time to collect donations from shoppers at Webbers Garden Centre and the Riddells Creek Bakery. This effort could not have been made possible if it weren't for the ongoing support from the team at Webbers, the dedication of our volunteers and the shoppers who gave up their loose change on the day.
Did you change you smoke alarm battery when you changed your clock on Sunday morning? - 3/04/2012 During the late hours of Saturday night and early Sunday morning, all Victorians will no doubt have taken a moment to adjust their clocks to mark the end of daylight savings. But how many homeowners took this opportunity to change their smoke alarm battery?
Now that daylight savings has ended for the 2011/2012 summer, all home owners should have already changed their smoke alarm batteries to ensure that these lifesaving devices will alert them in the event that there is a fire in their home.
There are around 11,000 house fires across Australia each year but unfortunately around 50 people die as a result of these fires. Working smoke alarms can provide a vital early warning of a fire in your home. A family in Riddells Creek were recently woken at 4am to the sound of their smoke alarm operating. A fire in their hot-water service caused the alarm to sound and gave the family enough time to leave the building and dial 000. The outcome could have been very different if the smoke detector hadn't alerted them of the fire. More details about changing your smoke alarm battery can be found at www.changeyourbattery.com.au
A serious car accident marks the end of a busy day for Riddells Creek - 2/04/2012 Volunteer firefighters from the Riddells Creek Fire Brigade were kept busy today after being responded to 3 separate emergencies in the space of 12 hours. Firefighters from Riddells Creek were called to the Gisborne IGA supermarket shortly before 6.30am this morning to investigate a plume of smoke in the building. Three fire crews from the Gisborne Fire Brigade investigated the cause of the smoke and determined the source to be coming from the plant room. By 1.40pm, our firefighters were heading back to Gisborne to investigate a smoke detector which was operating at the Oaks Nursing home.
Firefighters from the Bolinda-Monegeetta and Riddells Creek fire brigades then attended the scene of a car accident on the Melbourne-Lancefield Road near Clarkefield at around 6.15pm this evening. Police, ambulance and SES personnel were also at the scene. Three vehicles had collided near the Bolinda bridge and the occupants from one of the vehicles had to be cut from the wreckage. Traffic on the Melbourne-Lancefield had to be diverted along Websters Road while emergency crews treated the occupants of the vehicles and cleared the scene.
Fire Restrictions end on Monday 19th March 2012 - 17/03/2012 As of 1am Monday 19th March, fire restrictions across the Macedon Ranges and Hume City Council areas will come to an end for the 2011/2012 summer period. Healthy rainfall during late February and early March has helped to increase moisture levels in the grass and forest fuels across most of Victoria which in turn, has lead to the earlier than anticipated end to the fire season.
Permanent, year-round council by-laws relating to the use of fire for burning off will remain in place so once the fire restrictions are lifted but before deciding to light a burn off, residents are advised to understand the relevant council by-laws. Click here to visit our Fire Restrictions page.
Local fire-fighters lend a hand at hazardous chemical leak at Portland - 21/2/2012 Fire-fighters from the Riddells Creek, Macedon and Woodend fire brigades today returned home from a two-day deployment to a hazardous materials emergency near Portland. At approximately 2.45pm on Saturday afternoon, the Portland Fire Brigade were responded to a leak from a 300 tonne liquid pitch tank located at the Port of Portland in the state’s south-west. Liquid pitch is a bitumen substance that is heated to 200°c. The magnitude of emergency and the threat that the chemical leak could pose to nearby residents, businesses and the environment was soon realised and before long, the severity of the emergency had been escalated to such an extent that specialist emergency services resources and personnel would soon be called to assist from all over Victoria. As the emergency entered its second and third day, a request was made to the fire brigades in the Macedon Ranges area to provide additional fire-fighters who have been trained in the use of Breathing Apparatus (BA). 2 fire-fighters from Riddells Creek answered the call for help and returned home this evening.
Grass fire threatens home in Tranter Close - 14/2/2012 8 fire appliances and up to 30 fire-fighters battled to save a home from a grass fire at Tranter Close near Kilmore Road this evening. The emergency call for a fire in a paddock was received at around 5.25pm and when fire-fighters from the Riddells Creek Fire Brigade arrived shortly after, a request was made for additional fire crews to be responded from the nearby Bolinda, Gisborne, Clarkefield and Hesket-Kerrie fire brigades.
The swift action taken by the initial crews prevented the fire from damaging a nearby home and contained the fire to an area of approximately 2 acres. The cause of the fire is being investigated by police.
Are you prepared for bushfire this summer? Now's the time to prepare! - 30/1/2012 A Fire Ready Victoria meeting will take place at the Tree Tops scout camp on Thursday 9th February from 7.30pm. The meeting will provide a snapshot of CFA's key advice to landowners who live in high fire risk areas while also addressing the importance of preparing your property and developing a written bushfire survival plan. The township of Riddells Creek has been identified as one of Victoria's high fire risk areas and as a result of the recent hot and dry weather, the threat of bushfire to an area like this cannot be ignored.
Residents who live in the township itself, or on the outskirts of Riddells Creek are urger to prepare for bushfire by developing a written Bushfire Survival Plan. Each summer, CFA deliver a range of community education programs to assist residents in preparing for bushfire or grassfire and the upcoming Fire Ready Victoria meeting is an example of one of these programs.
For further information about the meeting or to address any other questions and bushfire preparation and planning, please contact Dean Anderson at the Riddells Creek Fire Brigade on 0401-080-369 or email dean.anderson@members.cfa.vic.gov.au
Fire-fighters quickly extinguish grass fire on Australia Day- 26/1/2012 At 12.30pm today, fire-fighters from the Riddells Creek and Gisborne fire brigades responded to a grass fire at a property on Campbells Road, Riddells Creek. The small fire was extinguished soon after the arrival of the fire brigade and these efforts prevented the spread of the fire to nearby properties.
Works being carried out in dry grass was determined to be the cause of the fire. This fire, combined with the recent hot weather, should come as a reminder to all Victorian residents that fire restrictions are now in force in most areas of the state and that these restrictions place limitations on what types of machinery, vehicles and tools can be operated during the Fire Danger Period.
A number of provisions exist when carrying out these kind of works during the summer months, so before you get out there to slash your paddock, use a grinder or welder or even start the chainsaw, check the details of these restrictions in the online copy of CFA's Can I or Can't I guide.
Fire-fighters practice their pumping skills - 8/1/2012 As we get further into the summer months, the risk of bushfire and grassfire becomes all the more real and with this, comes the need for our local fire-fighters to ensure that their practical and theoretical skills are up to date and well rehearsed.
Fire-fighters from Riddells Creek today spent a few hours during their weekly training timeslot to practice the process known as 'Draughting' which involves pumping water from a lake, dam or swimming pool.
Most fires which occur in the town area can often be extinguished by sourcing water from the network of fire hydrants, but in the more rural areas of Riddells Creek, fire hydrants are few and far between and with this comes the need to be able to fill up the fire trucks from static sources of water.
Volunteer fire-fighters from Riddells Creek practice their skills (such as draughting on this occasion) from 10am to 12.30pm every Sunday morning to ensure that they can perform these tasks safely, efficiently and effectively when responding to real fires or emergencies. Click below to view some of the photos taken at today's training session.
Fire Restrictions commenced Monday 26th December 2011 - 26/12/2011 As of 1am this morning, fire restrictions for across the Macedon Ranges Shire Council and Hume City Council came into force. Residents from Riddells Creek and the surrounding areas are reminded that burning off in the open air without a written permit from the council is now prohibited.
In addition to the regulations relating to burning off, there are also a number of other restrictions that apply during the coming summer months and details relating to these restrictions can be found in a copy of CFA's Can I or Can't I guide.
For more information about fire restrictions, visit the CFA website or click here to access our Fire Restrictions page.
Santa departs Riddells Creek early on Christmas Eve - 24/12/2011 Due to the rain and lightning which gripped Riddells Creek earlier this evening, unfortunately Santa had no option but to abort his annual drive around the town to hand out bags of lollies. The safety of Santa and his helpers was paramount in making the decision to call off the tour around the town shortly after 4pm this evening. Santa apologises for needing to head off earlier than expected and assures us that he looks forward to coming back again this time next year though.
Sunbury Grassfire sparks the beginning of a dangerous grassfire season - 7/12/2011 Firefighters from the Riddells Creek Fire Brigade were called upon to help battle a grassfire on Vineyard Road near Sunbury this afternoon. The fire, which started at around 4pm, soon took hold and additional fire trucks were called upon to stop the spread of the fire.
At the peak of the firefight, up to 15 fire trucks from around the local area were battling the fire. Firefighters from Sunbury, Diggers Rest, Wildwood, Clarkefield, Gisborne, Riddells Creek, Greenvale, Bulla and Toolern Vale were able to prevent any property damage and managed to contain the fire to the paddock.
Traffic on Vineyard Road was closed in both directions during the fire. A selection of photos from the fire have been included below (Click each photo to enlarge).
Bushfire Education Day 2011 - 19/11/2011 Despite the rainy weather, up to 100 residents from around the Macedon Ranges took the chance to visit Bushfire Education Day at the Riddells Creek Fire Brigade today. The day featured a number of short, bushfire safety presentations, as well as two Fire Ready meetings. The annual event is an integral part of brigades bushfire safety program to the Riddells Creek community.
A date for next years event will be chosen in the coming months and a selection of photos from the day is included below (Click each photo to enlarge).
Riddells Creek welcomes safety enhancements to its frontline fire truck - 19/11/2011 Firefighters from the Riddells Creek Fire Brigade have welcomed a number of safety modifications made to its frontline bushfire fighting appliance recently. As a part of a current statewide retrofit program, "Riddells Creek Tanker" received a number of engineering modifications to enhance firefighter safety in the event that the fire truck be trapped during a bushfire or grassfire. The changes include a water spray system which directs water along all of the external surfaces of the fire truck, including the walls, windows and tyres. Pull-down curtains designed to reflect radiant heat were fitted in the cabin and the deck area to provide further protection to firefighters. Additional panels were fitted to the fire truck to provide further heat resistance to vulnerable areas including the pump area and the battery compartment.
Riddells Creek Tanker is the frontline fire truck used for grass fires and bushfires by firefighters at the Riddells Creek Fire Brigade. This fire truck is also often called upon to fight some of Victorias larger fires including recent examples such as the 2009 Black Saturday fires at Kinglake, as well as fires at Halls Gap, Anakie and the north east alpine areas of Victoria.
A selection of photos day is included below (Click each photo to enlarge).
Car accident closes Kilmore Road - 5/10/2011 Kilmore Road was closed to traffic in both
directions this evening following a car accident involving two
vehicles near the Mt Charlie Road intersection. Firefighters from
the Riddells Creek Fire Brigade were responded to the accident
shortly after 5.30pm and Police, SES and Ambulance crews were also
in attendance. One of the drivers was transported to hospital while
the driver of the other vehicle was treated at the scene by
ambulance personnel. Kilmore Road was closed to traffic in both directions for around one hour. Police are investigating the cause of the accident.
Lounge room fire at Racecourse Road - 24/07/2011 At approximately 3.30pm this afternoon the Riddells Creek Fire Brigade were responded to a lounge room fire at an address in Racecourse Road, Riddells Creek. Fire-fighters from the Riddells Creek Fire Brigade were supported by additional fire-fighters from the Gisborne and Sunbury fire brigades.
The team of approximately 20 fire-fighters and 5 fire trucks were able to quickly bring the fire under control and limit the spread of the fire through the remainder of the building. A number of specialist fire-fighting resources were also utilised which included the use of a thermal imaging camera and a ventilation fan to remove excess smoke from the building.
An ambulance also attended the scene to treat a resident believed to have been suffering from exhaustion and anxiety. The exact cause of the fire is still under investigation but initial signs indicate that the fire may have been started by items being placed too close to a wood heater.
Today's fire should serve as a timely reminder to all residents who have heaters of any type that items such as clothing, wood and paper should be kept well clear. Residents are also urged to ensure they never leave cooking, heaters, open fires or candles unattended. Further information about this example and other home fire safety advice can be found at: www.homefiresafety.com.au
Fire destroys art room at New Gisborne Primary School - 28/05/2011 At approximately 8pm this evening, the Riddells Creek Fire Brigade were responded to a structure fire at the New Gisborne Primary School. Up to 55 firefighters and 9 fire appliances from Gisborne, Riddells Creek, Macedon and Sunbury battled the fire which extensively damaged the art room building. Firefighters carried out both internal and external attacks on the blaze and managed to bring the fire under control within about 1 hour.
Fire crews will spend the night extinguishing pockets of the fire and carrying out clean up operations. The fire is estimated to have caused at least $500,000 in damage and the cause of the fire will be investigated in the morning.
Riddells Creek Fire Brigade Recruiting Now! - 20/05/2011 The Riddells Creek Fire Brigade is about to commence its annual recruitment campaign for 2011. Have you ever thought about joining the Brigade or wondered how you could contribute to the Riddells Creek community by making a real difference? Well, getting to know a little bit more about your local fire brigade may just be the answer. The Riddells Creek Fire Brigade is made up with a membership of 100% volunteers. That means that we need people like you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to ensure that we continue to provide this essential emergency service to Riddells Creek and its surrounding communities. The Brigade is running an information evening at the Station to gain an expression of interest from prospective operational and non-operational members on Monday 27 June 2011 at 7pm. Please contact Alex Batty on 0439 952 306 for further information or to register your interest in attending the session. We look forward to seeing you there.
New Communications officer - 12/05/2011 At the brigade April meeting the brigades membership voted for a new communications officer after the resignation of Ross Hall our previous communications officer when he moved away from the district. The elected member was Terrie Boydle who has held the position previously and will make excellent officer in this roll until the brigades general elections next year. We congratulate Terrie and Thank Ross for his years of service not only as Communications officer, but also as a member of the Riddells Creek Fire Brigade.
Members awarded for service - 30/04/2011 On
Saturday 9 April 2011 three brigade members were awarded VFBV
Certificates of Service at the Rural State Championships at Werribee
Mansion. The VFBV Certificates of Service are awarded to individuals
who have served the VFBV or the former Fire Brigade Associations for
over 20 years.
Riddells Creek raises $2008 for the Royal Childrens Hospital Good Friday Appeal - 22/04/2011 Firefighters from the Riddells Creek Fire Brigade helped to raise $2008 for today's Royal Childrens Hospital Appeal! Like every other year, volunteer firefighters from Riddells Creek were on-hand and shaking the donation tins at the front of the Riddells Creek Bakery and at the Webbers Garden Centre during the first day of their Easter plant sale.
We would like to take this chance to thank those who donated to this worthy cause. Also, it's important to note that such a success could not have been made possible without the ongoing support of the team at Webbers.
/03/2011 The end of daylight savings also marked that time of the year when residents are urged to change their smoke alarm battery as they change their clocks.
Given that daylight savings ended on Sunday 3rd April at 3am, all residents are urged to replace their smoke alarm batteries if they haven't already done so. More than 50 Australians die each year as a result of accidental house fires and most of which occur between the hours of 9pm to 6am. Working smoke detectors save many Victorian and Australian lives each year by providing residents with early warning of a fire in their home.
More information can be found at www.changeyourbattery.com.au/ or by phoning the Riddells Creek Fire Brigade on 5428 6000.
/03/2011 Firefighters from the Riddells Creek Fire Brigade joined forces this afternoon with police and ambulance personnel at a multi-vehicle car accident on Riddell Road near Campbells Road. The brigade was notified of the three-car accident shortly after 1.30pm this today. Firefighters assisted police and ambulance personnel by treating the injured occupants, managing traffic flows around the accident scene and clearing the road after the occupants had been transported to hospital. Some of the photographs taken at today's accident have been included shown below (click to enlarge).
/03/2011 Thanks to one of the wettest summers on record, Fire Restrictions for the Macedon Ranges Shire came to an end at 1am on Monday 7th March, 2011. Residents in Riddells Creek should be reminded that despite the end to the Fire Danger Period, council by-laws continue to remain in force throughout the entire year which still limit what we can and can't do as residents when it comes time to burning off. Further information can be sourced from our Fire Restrictions page.
/02/2011 If you didn’t already know, Riddells Creek Fire Brigade is completely derived of 100% volunteers. So that means that 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, thankless volunteers from the Riddells Creek community take the time to run the Brigade, train to improve their skills and respond to emergencies in order to keep the residents of Riddells Creek and surrounding areas safe. We are currently conducting a recruitment drive for operational members who might fit in to any of the following categories:
CFA members respond to a wide range of emergencies including; fire, car accidents, hazardous materials incidents, floods, search and rescue and much more. We make sure you get the appropriate nationally accredited training and skills to undertake all of the above. If you’ve been wondering how you can really make a difference in your community then being an operational response member of the Brigade may just be for you. We’re currently recruiting now. Please call Alex Batty on 0439 952 306 to register your interest or to get further information. Further information about becoming a volunteer firefighter with the CFA can be found at the CFA website.
Power lines down spark small fire - 01/02/2011 Around 1pm this afternoon during strong winds powerlines on Gap Rd were brought down just South of Barclay Place. The downed powerlines started a small grass and scrub fire which was spreading quickly. An alert driver noticed the fire, called the fire brigade and made all efforts to contain the fire. The Riddell brigade attended with two fire tankers and assisted by a fire tanker from Gisborne quickly extinguished the small fire and then dealt with the still live high voltage powerlines which were sparking on the ground and laying across residents driveways. The power company attended and unfortunately had to shut down power to a large part of Riddell whilst they repaired the lines. It is believed that a tree may have fallen across the powerlines in the strong gusty winds.
Fire Danger high to very high - 29/01/2011 The next four days are set to bring high to very high fire danger for the central fire ban district. Whilst there is a lot of green grass at the moment and despite the recent rain, there are many areas where the bush and grassland have dried out sufficiently to support fire. Residents are urged to use caution when operating machinery in these dry areas and make sure fire suppression devices are carried if required. If unsure contact the brigade or visit the Fire Restrictions section of our website for further information.
Flooding affects Riddell again - 13/01/2011 Once again parts of Riddells Creek have flooded after several days of heavy rain. Most parts of the town received over 150mm during the 4 day rain event with the peak on the evening of January 13th leading into January 14th. Homes and businesses were flooded and some roads were washed away or cut off by deep flowing water. The brigade responded to numerous calls for assistance and even had to sand bag the shed at the rear of the fire station when water began rising from storm water drains and flowing across the property.
Hardware failure takes down riddellcfa.com - 17/01/2011 Due to a hardware failure with our hosting company, our website was down for several days. We have now moved the site to a new server and will now be running regular updates again.
Santa is coming to town this Christmas Eve! - 21/12/2010 Santa will be teaming up with firefighters from the Riddells Creek Fire Brigade this Christmas Eve as he travels around in a fire truck to visit all of the children in and around Riddells Creek. Parents should be advised that this years annual Santa run will commence from 3.30pm this Friday (Christmas Eve) and is likely to conclude at approximately 6.30pm. During this time, Santa and his team of helpers will endeavour to visit all of the roads and streets within Riddells Creek. If required, further details on Santa's journey around the town can be sought by calling the fire station on 5428 6000.
Brigade takes delivery of new command & control car - 14/12/2010 The Riddells Creek Fire Brigade proudly took possession of their new command and control vehicle today. The new 2010 model, 4WD Toyota Hilux vehicle replaced the previous 2006 model which the brigade had operated for the past 4 years. The vehicle is owned by the Riddells Creek Fire Brigade, unlike the two other firefighting appliances housed at Riddells Creek which are funded owned and funded by the CFA.
The upgrade of this vehicle was only made possible through the many financial donations that the the fire brigade have received from the residents of Riddells Creek. More information about this vehicle can be found at our Appliances section.
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