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Members
refresh their First Aid skills - 2/08/2008
A
group of volunteer firefighters from the Riddells Creek Fire Brigade
undertook their annual First Aid / CPR refresher training today.
Like all workplaces, volunteer fire brigades in the CFA
require a team of personnel who are trained in treating medical
emergencies. Such training also enables our firefighters to support
paramedics, where required, at incidents such as car accidents or
house fires.
Today's
course is yet another example of the on-going training that our
members undertake in order to keep their skills fresh and up to date
with current standards.
House
damaged after early morning roof fire - 26/07/2008
A
house has been spared considerable damage after members from the
Riddells Creek and Sunbury fire brigades were responded to a roof
fire on Settlement Rd at around 9.30 this morning. At the peak of
the fire, up to 30 firefighters and 5 fire appliances battled to
prevent the fire from moving along the house through the roof
cavity.
Thanks
to the speedy response from those who attended, most of the damage
was contained to the roof and thankfully most of the homeowners
contents were saved from fire and water damage. At this stage the
cause of the fire is under investigation; a task which was assisted
by the use of a special thermal imaging camera called upon
from the Greenvale fire brigade.
Recent
chimney fire should encourage others to clean their chimney
regularly - 14/07/2008
Crews
from the Riddells Creek and Bolinda/Monegeeta fire brigades were
called to a chimney fire on the Gisborne-Kilmore Rd shortly after
6am this morning. It's believed that a build up of soot contributed
to the fire but thankfully the blaze was contained to within the
chimney. Given the recent spell of cold weather, residents with wood
heaters are encouraged to ensure that their chimney or flue is swept
on a regular basis to prevent this scenario from occurring.

Riddells
Creek helps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions - 10/07/2008
Newly
installed bicycle racks at the Riddells Creek Fire Station will
allow members of the local fire brigade to reduce their greenhouse
gas emissions and therefore reduce their impact on climate change.
The Riddells Creek Fire Brigade applied for a CFA Environment
Grant during December 2007 with the only condition being that
any money must go towards an initiative that would benefit the
natural environment and reduce the effects of climate change. Given
that a significant portion of the members of the brigade regularly
chose to cycle to the fire station, it was decided that there was a
need to provide facilities for those members to secure their
bicycle's while at the fire station and therefore, a strong case to
apply for the funding. It's believed that the new racks will now
encourage members to chose to cycle rather than to drive to the fire
station, which will no doubt bring about a reduction in greenhouse
gas emissions.
House
fire sparked by electrical fault - 16/06/2008
Firefighters
from the Riddells Creek and Sunbury fire brigades were called to a
house on Sunbury-Riddell road this morning. After receiving the call
shortly before 10am, 20 fire-fighters and 5 fire trucks were needed
to extinguish the blaze. Thanks to the efforts of the two fire
brigades, the fire was contained to the kitchen and roof areas of
the small timber house but unfortunately smoke damage occurred to
the majority of the building. An investigation into the cause of the
fire determined that the fire started due to an electrical fault in
the oven.
Brigade
members undertake extensive Breathing Apparatus training. - 01/06/2008
A
team of 8 fire-fighters from the Riddells Creek Fire Brigade are
making great progress towards achieving their Breathing Apparatus
(BA) qualification. After beginning the program during late April,
the class have reached the halfway mark of the 12 week training
course. Upon completion of the training program, the 8 volunteer fire-fighters
will have the necessary skills and abilities to wear breathing
apparatus in hazardous environments. Combating incidents such as
house fires or hazardous materials spills will become some of the
many scenarios where these members will be able to employ their new
skills.
After
learning the basic ways in which to search a smoke filled building
for casualties, the class have now moved on to learn how to wear and
operate a compressed air breathing apparatus. The pictures below
depict some of the earlier training sessions which involved
practising their search methods with impaired visibility. By early
July, it's anticipated that all of the 8 candidates will pass their
assessment and become the next generation of structural fire-fighters
here in Riddells
Creek.

Riddells
Creek members reach for greater heights as DGO's.... - 15/05/2008
Following
the bi-annual elections for the Mt. Macedon Fire Brigades Group
tonight, the Riddells Creek Fire Brigade are pleased to announce
that ex-captain Marcus Bootle and current captain Dave Thompson,
were elected to the position of "Deputy Group Officers"
which will take effect as of July 1st, 2008. Brigade member Terri
Boydle was also re-elected to be one of three Deputy Group Comms
Officers for the area.
Out
of control burn-off gives residents a scare - 15/05/2008
Shortly
before 3pm today, the Riddells Creek Fire Brigade were called upon
to support Gisborne and Sunbury Fire Brigades at a 3 acre grass fire
near Outlook Lane, Gisborne. What originally started as a private
burnoff soon became a fast moving grass fire as wind fanned the
out-of-control blaze along the Jacksons Creek gorge. Steep slopes
and rocky terrain made access to the fire all the more difficult,
which resulted in the fire-fighters only being able to access the
fire by foot.
Fire
Restrictions lifted across Macedon Ranges and Hume shires. - 01/04/2008
Residents
from Riddells Creek and the surrounding areas are advised that as of
1am on the 1st May, 2008, Fire Restrictions were lifted in the
Macedon Ranges and Hume shires. Anyone wishing to now take the
opportunity to burn off need to be aware that council By-Laws still
limit what people can and can't burn. More information can be found
at our Fire
Restrictions page. If you have any queries about burning off,
don't hesitate to contact us on 5428 6000.
Brigade
election results - 08/04/2008
Tonight
the Riddells Creek Fire Brigade held their elections in order to
select their officers and managers for the next 2 year period. After
8 wonderful years as service as Captain, Dave Thompson decided it
was time to step aside and make way for a new brand of leadership
within the brigade. The Brigade would like to take this opportunity
to thank Dave for his leadership over the past 8 years and we wish
all of the following office bearers the best of luck when they
officially commence their duties on July 1 later this year.
Captain:
Toby Tresise
1st
Lieutenant: Nick Tschuck
2nd
Lieutenant: Alex Batty
3rd
Lieutenant: Dean Anderson
4th
Lieutenant: Chris McColley
Comms
Officer: Ross Hall
Secretary:
Michael Hemingway
Treasurer:
Peter Tisdall
Training
Manager: Martin Leitch
Equipment
Manager: Marcus Bootle
Catering
& Support Manager: Louise Hemingway
Community
Safety Manager: Dean Anderson
JFB
Coordinator: Mark White
FEM
Coordinator: Don Clark
Fire
Restrictions continue to remain in force in Riddells Creek area
until May 2008- 21/03/20
As
the weather begins to get a little colder, it's easy to fall into
the trap of assuming that fire restrictions have been lifted.
However, fire restrictions are still in place in the Riddells Creek
area and will continue to be in effect until 1st May, 2008. So as a
word of cation, please remember that burning off without a written
permitted is still prohibited and punishable by law. For more
information about fire restrictions, please click
here.
$2000
raised for the Royal Children's Hospital Good Friday appeal! 21/03/2008
The
Riddells Creek Fire Brigade would like to extend a warm thank you to
the many people who donated to the 2008
Royal Children's Hospital Good Friday appeal today. Thanks to
the efforts of a number of volunteer fire-fighters from the Riddells
Creek Fire Brigade, a total of $1950 was collected at the annual Easter
sale at Webbers
Garden Centre and outside the Riddells Creek post office. This
sum marks a record taking since the fire brigade have started
collecting for the appeal.
The
Riddells Creek Fire Brigade would like to thank the team at Webbers
Garden Centre for their annual support to the appeal and look
forward to raising even more towards this worthy cause next year.
Riddells Creek members undertake teamwork and leadership training -
18/03/2008
Fighting
fires would have to be regarded as one of the few jobs that requires
such a high level of teamwork and group cooperation.
In
order to nurture a team oriented culture, members at the Riddells
Creek Fire Brigade have recently undertaken teamwork and leadership
training. The theoretical aspects of this session were reinforced
through a number of hands-on team building activities; all of which
aimed to improve the way in which our volunteer fire-fighters
perform and function as teams.
Differences
in peoples age, gender, culture and background are some of the many
reasons that have lead to the Riddells Creek Fire Brigade being such
a diverse collection of people. The images below captured some of
the moments during this course where the brigade members were
required to pull together as a team and work towards achieving a set
task.
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Suspicious person acting as fire-safety salesman- 13/03/2008
Recently
there have been reports of an individual going from door to door in
the Riddells Creek community offering advice and products regarding
summer and winter fire safety. Please note this individual is not
associated with the Riddells Creek Fire Brigade or Country Fire
Authority. During the summer season the Riddells Creek Brigade
conducts the Bushfire and Emergency Services Expo along with a
number of Fire Ready Victoria and Community Fire Guard presentations
throughout the town. Residents will be advised of these events via
the Riddell Round Up and associated CFA mail drops.
All
CFA members are issued with a personal identification card and I
encourage all resident to ask for this documentation to be produced
if someone approaches your home.
This
matter has been reported to Victoria Police and is currently being
investigated.
Heat wave hits Victoria - 12/03/2008
With
the mercury set to reach or exceed 30 degrees for the next seven
days the community are reminded that Fire Restrictions Are In Force.
There is a good chance that many of these days will also be declared
Total Fire Bans and everyone is urged to remain vigilant. Although
some soaking rain during January brought a green tinge to the
countryside there is still plenty of dry material that will burn.
Check here for Total Fire Ban
Check here for Fire Restrictions
Check here for Can I or Can't I
Man
lucky to be alive after freak tractor accident -
24/02/2008
A
male aged in his late 40's is lucky to be alive after a freak
accident involving a grass slasher today. The male victim was using
the tractor to slash an area of grassland at Riddell Airfield before
becoming trapped underneath a slasher attachment shortly after noon
today.
Crews
from the Riddells Creek Fire Brigade had arrived at the Websters
Road address within 5 minutes of receiving the call, shortly before
the arrival of ambulance, police and volunteers from the Gisborne
SES unit.
The
large team of emergency service personnel spent spent up to one hour
using specialised hydraulic jacking equipment to free the
occupant from under the slasher.
Initial
investigations into the cause of the accident have lead emergency
crews into believing that the slasher operator had fallen from the
tractor before being dragged underneath and becoming trapped. After
sustaining minor injuries and being treated on scene by paramedic
crews, the patient was airlifted to hospital in a stable condition.
Click on the images below to enlarge.

Fire
safety DVD delivered to all homes in Riddells Creek -
5/02/2008
More
than 100,000 households that may be at risk of bushfires around the
state, including those homes in Riddells Creek, will soon
receive a free fire safety DVD - Living
on the Edge. CFA with the support from RACV Insurance, have
produced the nine-minute DVD which provides practical advice on how
to deal with the threat of fire. For those residents who have not
received a copy of this DVD within the next week or two, feel free
to contact us.
Copies of this DVD will also be available from selected RACV retail
shops by mid-February.

House
fire under investigation -
30/01/2008
CFA
members from the Riddells Creek and Gisborne Fire Brigades attended
a derelict house-fire in Gisborne overnight. Crews were alerted to
the Brady Road fire shortly after 11pm but the fire quickly took
hold of the abandoned weatherboard house. At present, the cause of
the fire is still unknown but is being treated as
suspicious.
Merry
Christmas from the Riddells Creek Fire Brigade -
25/12/2007
From
everybody at the Riddells Creek Fire Brigade, we would like to take
this opportunity to wish everybody in Riddells Creek a very Merry
and safe Christmas!
Santa
makes flying visit to Riddells Creek!-
24/12/2007
Before
commencing his world wide tour this evening, Santa made a quick
stop-over here in Riddells Creek. All of the children of Riddells
Creek were treated to a surprise bag of lollies as Santa travelled
the streets of the town with the help of the local fire truck. Thank
you to all of the residents who took this opportunity to say
"thank you" to the Fire Brigade and your kind words, and
in some cases the gifts, were greatly appreciated.
Congratulations
to those who received this years awards!-
23/12/2007
Today's
Christmas lunch was the perfect opportunity to recognise some of the
outstanding contributions made by members of the Riddells Creek Fire
Brigade during 2007. A presentation concluded today's lunch which
saw a number of awards being issued to some of the Brigade members.
We would like to congratulate the following recipients...
-
Alex
Batty - Fire-fighter of the Year
-
Martin
Leitch - Recruit Fire-fighter of the Year
-
Geoff
Thorpe - 1st Lieutenants Encouragement Award
-
Marcus
Bootle - 30 Year Long Service badge.
-
Jim
Skillen - 20 Year Long Service badge.
-
Toby
Tresise - Certificate II In Public Safety (Firefighting
Operations)

Local's
pitch in to help create new uniform room. -
12/12/2007
A new
new state-of-the-art storage room has been constructed at the
Riddells Creek Fire station thanks to the generous support from a
few local tradesmen. Rex Bennett and Travis Stevens (WeKan
Constructions) donated considerable amounts of time towards the
project which saw a new room created to store the brigade's uniforms.
Rex supported the project by providing a number of pre-fabricated
steel brackets whilst Travis from WeKan Constructions provided some
fine carpentry skills by attaching the clothing racks into place.
This new clothing room will make it safer and quicker for the
fire-fighters of the brigade to change into their uniform as they
arrive at the fire station for an emergency call. If you would like
further details for businesses who helped with this project, feel
free to Contact Us.

House
fire at Darraweit Guim - 5/12/2007
CFA crews from Riddells Creek,
Romsey, Wallan, Clarkefield, Bolinda and Springfield were called to
support the Darraweit Guim Fire Brigade this afternoon at a house
fire on the Bolinda-Darraweit Road. In a bid to supply extra water
for the firefighting effort, Riddells Creek were called upon
to respond their Tanker at around 3.10pm. Early reports into the
fire indicate that the home was totally destroyed by the blaze.
Investigations into the cause of the fire are continuing.
Driver
lucky to escape early morning crash - 23/11/2007
A
middle aged man is lucky to be alive after he and his vehicle were
involved in a serious car accident early this morning. Shortly after
2am this morning, CFA crews from Riddells Creek and Clarkefield were
called to support the SES and Ambulance services with a vehicle that
had come off the road and rolled repeatedly near the Bolinda Bridge
on the Melbourne-Lancefield road. The occupant was trapped for up to
an hour before finally being cut from the vehicle and transported to
hospital by road. The cause of the accident is still under
investigation.
Bushfire
& Emergency Services Expo huge success - 11/11/2007
With
perfect weather this years Expo was a huge success with an estimated
1000 people attending and enjoying the day. People came from near
and far to witness this event. Even from as far away as South
Australia they made the trip.

Creating
Safer Communities - Kathryn court burn-off - 8/11/2007
Fine
weather allowed the Riddells Creek Fire Brigade to conduct a fuel
reduction burn-off in the Kathyrn court / Sutherlands road vicinity
this evening. Apart from a large amount of smoke being generated,
the burn-off went as planned. The aim of the burn-off was to reduce
to amount gorse bushes in the reserve area at the end of Kathryn
court.

Fire Restrictions declared -1/11/07
Fire Restrictions in the Macedon Ranges and Hume City Council areas
will take effect as of 1:00am on Monday November 12th. Local
residents wishing to reduce fuel loads around their home are advised
that if they wish to burn off, they may only do so until
restrictions come into force. This news also comes as a warning to
those who are tempted to burn off during the Fire Danger Period that
the "Zero Tolerance" policy will be enforced across the
entire Region this summer. Police personnel have been informed
across Region 14 to place charges against anyone who is found
breaching these restrictions. Further information can be found at
our Fire
Restrictions page.
Riddellcfa.com gets an uplift! -
19/10/07
Welcome to the new Riddells Creek Fire Brigade website! After months
of fine-tuning the design and the content, the new concept is
finally here. We intend this site will provide key information to
the Riddells Creek township and the surrounding areas such as fires
that have been occurring, real-time weather information, wildfire
survival tips and information about the Brigade, and the CFA in
general. We would like to acknowledge the hard work that Kris
Marsh has put into the design of the new webpage concept. If you
have any suggestions about how the page could be improved, feel free
to contact us.
Warm weather keeps fire-fighters busy
- 18/10/07
High temperatures, low humidity's and winds of up to 90km/hr today
fanned a significant grassfire at Gisborne South. Crews from Sunbury and
Gisborne were alerted to a grassfire in the Calder FWY / Millet Road
area shortly after 7.30am but as the fire entered a pine plantation
and threatened nearby houses, Riddells Creek were called to assist
along with crews from Macedon, Mt Macedon, Bulla and Diggers Rest.
Meanwhile, a separate blaze also occurred at nearby Toolern Vale.
After experiencing difficulties while mopping up the blaze, crews
where finally released to return home from the fire at around
2pm. The cause of both fires are still under
investigation.
Bushfire threatens home at Bullengarook -
15/10/07
Riddells Creek members played a major role in providing
assistance at a number of fires which occurred in the local area
today. At 3.45pm Riddells Creek were asked to join forces with
Gisborne, Bullengarook and a number of other brigades at a bushfire
at Hobbs Road Bullengarook. The 2ha blaze was the result of a
previous burnoff which had reignited and at one stage threatened
nearby homes. At the peak of the fire-fight, up to 15 appliances
were on the scene. Then by 5pm an additional call was received
for a garage fire at nearby Dalton Street in Gisborne which saw
further resources being required to now deal with a new fire of a
totally different
nature.
Riddells Creek Members successful in their
search for a missing elderly woman -
1/10/07
CFA members from Riddells Creek, Gisborne, Macedon and Mt
Macedon brigades joined forces today with police and SES personnel
in a bid to locate a 72 year old woman, missing since 1pm on
Saturday afternoon.
Riddells Creek members were responded early this
morning to assist police and SES teams as the scoured the streets of
Mount Macedon, desperately trying to locate the missing woman. After
disappearing from the Wooling Hill Memorial Garden on Saturday, the
elderly woman trekked the local streets of New Gisborne and Mount
Macedon before making her way to Bendigo by train. Thanks to a
number of reported sightings by local residents, the woman was
located safe and well at Bendigo early this evening after she had
been observed boarding a train from Macedon over the weekend.
The CFA, SES and Victoria Police crews were
praised bot only for the successful result, but also for the level
of professionalism they demonstrated and the manner in which all
three organisations worked together during the ordeal.
Generation Y plan CFA’s future
- 15/07/07
Brigade members Dean Anderson, Alex Batty & Joanne Metz
have recently played a major role in planning the CFA’s future.
After being invited to attend a CFA Forum for members that fall
into the Y Generation, these Brigade members were given the honour
of formulating a detailled report that would address the key issues
that younger CFA members believe should be considered to ensure
the success of tomorrows CFA.
Following the completion of the 36 page document,
some of these brigade members were then invited to present their
findings to the CEO of the organisation, Neil Bibby, and a collection
of members from the upper tier of CFA’s corporate management
structure. Discussions are currently taking place to determine whether
the report can be made publicly available.
House saved during early morning blaze
- 01/07/07
CFA crews from Riddells Creek, Macedon and Sunbury were called to
support the Gisborne Fire Brigade this morning with an intense house
fire that had the potential to destroy the entire building at the
Frith Road property. The combination of a speedy response by Gisborne,
along with the support from Riddells Creek, meant the damage was
limited to just two bedrooms of the family home.
After waking to the sound of a screeching
smoke alarm, the Gisborne family witnessed one entire section of
their home engulfed in flames. The CFA was alerted shortly before
4am, only to arrive on scene minutes later to find one section of
the house well alight. A team of 25 firefighters and 5 appliances
took around 20 minutes to bring the blaze under control.
Search for missing girl ends with happy
ending - 04/06/07
A young child is safe and well after being reported missing late
on Sunday evening. The three year old girl disappeared from her
rural property in Riverside Drive late on Sunday afternoon but was
later discovered several kilometres away at a property on Wheelwrights
Road.
As the darkness and cold weather set in, fears
grew for the safety of the girl who was believed to have wandered
down towards the creek or be lost in thick bushland behind the township
of Riddells Creek. Amid these fears, the Riddells Creek and Gisborne
Fire Brigades were called to assist the SES and Police with the
search effort. As emergency services began to intensify their search,
the missing child arrived on the doorstep of a nearby rural property,
safe and well
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