Wangaratta training campus celebrates 40 years

On Saturday 5 October, hot fire drills and vehicle displays were part of the event at Wangaratta’s Victorian Emergency Management Training Centre (VEMTC). 

PAD Supervisor Richie Gardner said the facility, which provides volunteers with training in various scenarios including structural firefighting and breathing apparatus, began its journey over four decades ago.  

“In 1979, Wangaratta Council was approached by some of the local brigades that were looking for somewhere to be able to do hot fire training, which was not something you could do in the town,” Richie said.  

“An area adjacent to the saleyards was open and free and council agreed they could start utilising it from 1984.” 

The Wangaratta facility boasts fire attack buildings, props and training facilities for brigades from Kerang to Wallan, the Alpine region, back to Corryong and to the Murray region.   

Crews can use simulations of motor vehicle accidents and structure fires to boost their skills, as well as breathing apparatus equipment.  

“It gives our brigades the opportunity to come and train to meet the risk of their area,” Richie said.   

“They have the ability to go to a training ground and be taught in a controlled environment, but still very similar to the hot, smoky environment of a real fire.”  

On the weekend, South Wangaratta and Wangaratta fire brigade members participated in a simulation of a service station fire gas attack to present their skills to the welcoming crowd.  

A yesteryear drill also saw old International pumpers that members used in the facility’s early days restored for senior members to use once again.  

“The good thing about this facility, or any of our facilities, is they're not only firefighting facilities, they're for emergency service training, so Victoria Police, Ambulance Victoria and other emergency service organisations also utilise our training campus,” Richie said.   

“You never know when you or your family may need one of these services, and for us to be able to enhance their skills and assist them in their development is sensational. 

“It's something firefighters can't do in their work environments, so they come here, and they utilise this facility, and it makes it a safer place and a safer world for all of us.” 

Former CFA members who helped establish the facility gathered alongside current members to formally celebrate the occasion on Friday 4 October. 

CFA Deputy Chief Officer Garry Cook said it was important to pay respects to those who had the foresight and tenacity to bring training to volunteers as opposed to the other way around. 

"We now have another seven facilities like Wangaratta all owned and maintained by CFA geographically dispersed around Victoria, providing that very same vision that those pioneers had in the early days of District 23, being a first-class training facility accessible to volunteers,” Garry said.  

“It's a great facility and one that everybody who has had anything to do with over the years is exceptionally proud of. 

“We look forward to the opportunity to provide our volunteers with a base to access their training for years to come.”