Our Brigade

Also Below for Our Brigade History

Horsley Park Brigade is the only Rural Fire Service Brigade, in the Fairfield Local Government Area.

We are neighbors to the Liverpool Rural Fire District and the Blacktown Rural Fire District, as well as NSW Fire Brigades, 041 Station Smithfield, 097 Station Huntingwood, and 101 Station Bonnyrigg Heights. Additionally, the Horsley Park Brigade area falls under the NSW Fire Brigades Rescue Area, and all Rescue calls are either attended to by NSW Fire Brigades 063 Fire Rescue Blacktown, or 008 Fire Rescue Liverpool.

The Horsley Park Brigade primarily provides fire protection to the following suburbs:
~Horsley Park,
~Cecil Park,
~Cecil Hills,
~Parts of Abbotsbury (along Elizabeth Drive),
~and Parts of Wetherill Park and Bossley Park, under a Mutual Aid Agreement with NSW Fire Brigades.

The Brigade also responds to other suburbs in the Liverpool Rural Fire District, Penrith Rural Fire District, Blacktown Rural Fire District and Sydney Fire District. Responses to these areas are usually as a second supporting station, or to assist if the primary station is unavailable. I.e. in attendance to another call etc.

The Brigade protects mainly an Urban and Rural Urban environment, with most calls being property related with a small percentage of calls to rural properties for grass/scrub fires. The Brigade is responsible for all areas of fire protection in these suburbs, including a number of state and private schools, a number of significant industrial and commercial complexes, including shopping centres, a Hotel, 3 Service Stations, a number of bulk fuel storage sites, factories, storage facilities as well as a number of other significant commercial asset properties. The Brigade also proudly protects some 1,300 residential structures and assets and approximately 3,000 occupants.

Although the Brigades primary function is the suppression of fire, the Brigade is a volunteer community based organisation. The Brigade regularly conducts functions and exercises based on the community, some of these including:
~Community Fire Awareness,
~Fire Prevention,
~Mitigation,
~Education,
~Fire Awareness programs designed at Promoting Fire Safety, Prevention, Suppression and Survival for minors.

Brigade History

Fairfield City now has only one Rural Fire Brigade which is the Brigade at Horsley Park. This Service is funded by Fairfield City Council and controlled by NSW Rural Fire Service. The Fire Brigade is located in a building on the Horsley Drive near the entrance to Horsley Park Reserve.

Since 1909 new fire stations were constructed in various country and metropolitan districts. Two of the earliest fire stations erected close to Horsley Park were at Fairfield (site leased from 16 March 1920) and at Cabramatta (occupied on 16 August 1928).

The Horsley Park Rural Fire Service (formerly known as the Horsley Park Volunteer Bush Fire Brigade) began in the 1930s, when the Progress Association saw a need to protect people and property in the area from fire. The first fire station was at the same location as the present station on the Horsley Drive, in Horsley Park.

Mrs Kerfoot recalls the old Land Rover truck belonging to Mr Dick Davis and the water tank belonging to Mr Wright. In the late 1960s, the majority of the men were working and women in the local community ran the fire station. There were 9 women who were trained by the men on Sunday. The women fought the fires with wet sacks and pump knapsacks, McLeod tools (like very large two sided hoes) and later with hoses. The brigade became known as -The Pantyhose Brigade-, the fire truck was a Bedford Tender Truck which was named affectionately or otherwise, as -Big Bertha-.

It was a lumbering big truck built to take seven tons and hauling thirteen when filled with water, and was very difficult to drive, and very, very slow. For some of the ladies it was necessary for one person to step on the clutch, whilst another changed gears. A third person turned the wheel. At some stage later, (about 1975) Fairfield Council gave the Brigade a long wheelbase Land Rover fitted with a 1,000 gallon water tank and Briggs and Stratton high pressure pump.

This became known as the -Powder Puff- because it was quick and light, easy for the women to drive (comparatively) and was (hopefully) able to control a fire before it became too big and got out of control. Its disadvantage was that the very limited water supply was quickly used, so the brigade quickly learned to be efficient and frugal with water supply.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s there were 30 fire fighters in total. Ron Hoinville became Captain on 28th September 1972, and recalls the following members:
~Ed Hopkins,
~Ray Mason,
~Bill Morris,
~Helen Kerfoot,
~Anne Cork,
~Dick Davis,
~John Torgaeu,
~Lil Foggan,
~Nancy Shirtliff,
~Beryl and Mike Howard,
~Charlie and Phillip Borg,
~John Flood and Mick Pangallo.

Sometime in the 1980s, the neighbouring suburb of Bossley Park had been subdivided and developed. The suburb was no longer a rural area, so the Bossley Park Rural Fire Service closed and members joined the Horsley Park Brigade. Since members of the two brigades combined, the Horsley Park Brigade became known as the Fairfield Rural Fire Service.

In 2004, the brigade is very highly regarded, members are highly trained and the call out list is 59 members.

Captains of the Brigade:
~ Dick Davis 1965 (or so) - 1970,
~ Ron Hoinville 1970 - 1980,
~Mick Pochyly 1981 - 1982,
~Col Boss 1982-1983,
~Michael Moffit 1984,
~Tony Molloy, 1985 - 2000,
~Sam Quatromani 2000 - 2002,
~Matt Waldon 2002 - 2004,
~Darren Nation 2004 - 2005,
~James McDonald 2005 - 2006,
~Onur Ayyildiz 2006 -

The following people were presidents of the Brigade:
~Ralph Cork
~Mick Moffat
~John Flood
~Peter Cork
~Megan Quattromani
~Rachel Dickinson
~Bill Robb

The above information was provided by NSW State Archivist Ms Maria Toth. Maria as part of her University course researched Horsley Park, as part of her Major Work. Maria was awarded a Distinction for her excellent work. The abstract above was a section based on her research on the Horsley Park Brigade. The whole work is called "A History of Horsley Park.". Maria will be publishing this works in the near future, which will be available for purchase. The Brigade would like to complement, Maria on and excellent research job, and would like to thank her for allowing the Brigade to reprint this information on the Brigade Web Page.