On Sunday 25 October Castlemaine Fire Brigade held its Open Day which proved to be extremely popular and well beyond our expectations.
Over 150 people visited the station between 10am and 1pm. They enjoyed some informative one-on-one discussions with members relating to this fire season and fire preparedness.
The public were advised of our open day via local newspapers, Main FM radio and social media, but it seems the colourful ‘graffiti’ scribbled on the motor room doors was the most effective!
Captain Koala again ran amok trying to steal the show but did help out greeting the public, driving the tanker and even doing some hose demonstrations. Some of our equipment both new and old (our 1961 Austin pumper and 1890's Merryweather hand-operated pump) was on display.
We had various demonstrations from BA team, gas suit team. Burns over drills were done during the day to show our appliances can protect us.
The free sausage sizzle was very popular with about 10kg being cooked up. We also had inside colouring competition for the kids (young and old), badge making, CFA truck photo stand and various handouts for people to take home. Local residents came along for the day as well as visitors from as far as Sydney, Eltham and Carnegie.
A great day for all involved.
Author: Jay Gardiner