Junee Shire

Junee Brigade

Captain:	Stuart Dietrich
Secretary:	Paul Armour
Email:	chris.eccleston@bigpond.com
Meeting Dates:	First & third Sunday of each month

The Junee Rural Fire Brigade was founded in 1990 after the second of two major fires burnt out the Bethungra Hills. Junee Shire Council called for volunteers to form a Brigade based in Junee itself to assist other Brigades in the Junee Shire. The response was overwhelming with some 24 volunteers signing up. The first Captain elected was Noel Sadleir and Secretary Paul Armour who retains the position today. The Brigade started with 3 initial groups, with the purpose of keeping one group spare for relief in the event of multiple fires.

The first Brigade fire unit was an old Bedford that was purchased from the Forestry Commission, refurbished, and fitted out and painted a bright new red. The Brigade operated out of the Junee Shire Council Depot until funds became available to erect a Brigade station which is now based at Bolton St, Junee.

Since its inception the Brigade has seen a number of changes from the first fire unit and "mop up" unit to the Brigades current Cat 1 and Cat 2 tankers. The Junee Brigade also cares for Junee’s two Bulk water tankers. These have been acquired through hard work and donations from various community groups along with ongoing maintenance by John and Stuart Dietrich.

The Junee Brigades longest serving Captain, Tom Gates, took over the position from John Dietrich in the early to mid 1990’s and still holds the position today. Many Brigade Members have been involved in large campaign fires such as the '97 Pilliga Scrub Fire, '94 South Coast Fires and the 2001 Christmas Fires just to name a few. The Brigade takes pride in their training and continues to work hard to maintain a high standard.