Emerald Fire Brigade

11/10/2026

🔥🏡 GET FIRE READY — ONE JOB A WEEK 🏡🔥
🔥WEEK 3 🔥
🍂 REMOVE LEAVES, BARK & TWIGS 🍂

🔥 ONE JOB THIS WEEK: REMOVE LEAVES, BARK & TWIGS
This week, we're asking Emerald & Avonsleigh residents to walk around your property and clear away dry leaves, twigs, loose bark and other fine fuels.
It might seem like a small job — but when it comes to bushfire preparation, the little things matter.

🔥 WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?
During a bushfire, embers can travel well ahead of the main fire front and land on or around your home.
Leaves, twigs and other fine fuels ignite quickly and burn easily. Embers can land in this material and start spot fires around your property.
In fact, ember attack as the most common way houses catch fire during bushfires.
Dry bark can also be particularly important. Fibrous and dry tree bark can act as a “ladder fuel”, helping fire move from the ground into vegetation and tree canopies.
👀 WHERE SHOULD YOU LOOK?
Don't just check the front yard, look down, look under, look all around.

Walk right around your property and look for:
🍂 Leaves collecting against the house
🌿 Twigs and small branches underneath trees and under bushes
🌳 Loose or dry bark
🏡 Debris underneath decks, stairs, outdoor furniture and verandahs
🪟 Fine fuels around doors and windows
🔥 Dry material around sheds and other buildings
🍃 Leaf litter collecting in corners, garden beds, and around fences
🏠 Debris around gutters and roof areas

🔥 YOUR FIRE READY CHALLENGE & JOB THIS WEEK🏡
Grab a rake, broom or blower and get clearing!
Remove the dry leaves, twigs, bark and other fine fuels from around your home and other buildings.
🚒 If it can burn — ask yourself whether it needs to be there.
Small jobs now can help reduce the amount of fuel available around your home when fire threatens.
🔥 DON'T JUST DO IT ONCE
Property preparation is an ongoing job.
Leaves and bark will continue to fall, particularly during spring and summer, so make checking and clearing fine fuels part of your regular property maintenance.

🔥 Let's get Emerald Fire Ready. 🔥
🚒 ONE JOB. ONE WEEK. ONE SAFER PROPERTY.
Call to action

📸 Why not take a before and after photo and show us your progress?
Small jobs completed now can make a big difference when fire season arrives.
Next week we'll give you another simple task to help prepare your home for bushfire season.

Emerald Fire Brigade
Serving our community. Preparing together. Helping our community get Fire Ready.










Property preparation can reduce bushfire risk, but it does not make a property fireproof. Always have a Bushfire Survival Plan and know when you will leave.

04/10/2026

🏡 GET FIRE READY — ONE JOB A WEEK 🏡🔥
🔥WEEK 2🔥
🧹 CLEAN YOUR GUTTERS 🧹

🔥 ONE JOB THIS WEEK: CLEAN YOUR GUTTERS
This week's job is simple:
Get those gutters cleaned!
It might seem like an ordinary spring clean, but keeping your gutters free from leaves, bark and other debris is an important part of preparing your property for bushfire season.

🔥 WHY DO YOUR GUTTERS MATTER?
During a bushfire, burning embers can travel ahead of the main fire front and land on or around your home.
According to CFA, ember attack is the most common way houses catch fire during bushfires.
Those embers can land in your gutters, where they can ignite accumulated leaves, twigs and other dry debris. This can create a fire right on your roofline and potentially allow fire to spread into your home.
CFA specifically recommends clearing gutters of leaf litter as part of preparing your property for fire season.

🔥 YOUR FIRE READY CHALLENGE & JOB THIS WEEK🏡
Take a walk around your home and:
☐ Clean leaves, bark and debris from your gutters
☐ Check roof valleys for accumulated debris
☐ Check for leaves and other fine fuels around the roofline
☐ Look for overhanging branches that could drop leaves and debris onto your roof
☐ Add regular gutter cleaning to your fire-season maintenance routine
And don't just do it once!
Gutters may need to be checked and cleaned regularly throughout the warmer months, particularly if you have trees close to your home.
👀 LOOK UP!
While you're cleaning your gutters, take a few extra minutes to look at your roof and the area around your home.
Ask yourself:
🔥 Could an ember land here?
🍂 Is there anything that could burn?
🌳 Are branches overhanging my roof?
🏡 Can I remove or reduce the fuel?
Before next week's post, get your gutters cleaned and tick another job off your Fire Ready list.
It might only take an hour, but it's one more thing you've done to prepare your property before the fire season arrives.
CFA resource
https://www.cfa.vic.gov.au/ArticleDocuments/534/CFA-Your-Guide-to-Property-Preparation-V2.pdf

🔥 Let's get Emerald Fire Ready. 🔥
🚒 ONE JOB. ONE WEEK. ONE SAFER PROPERTY.
Call to action
📸 Why not take a before and after photo and show us your progress?
Small jobs completed now can make a big difference when fire season arrives.
Next week we'll give you another simple task to help prepare your home for bushfire season.

Serving our community. Preparing together. Helping our community get Fire Ready.

04/10/2026

Congratulations to the latest recruits from Emerald Fire Brigade and Menzies Creek Rural Fire Brigade who passed their General Fire Fighter practical assessments this morning.

Seven members from Emerald Fire Brigade and one member from Menzies Creek Rural Fire Brigade have spent the past several months learning, training and preparing for today’s assessment, taking an important step towards becoming operational firefighters.

Becoming a volunteer firefighter takes a significant commitment. Behind today’s achievement are many hours of training, study and practical exercises — time these members have willingly given so they can be ready to respond when their community needs them.

Volunteering with CFA is about much more than responding to fires and emergencies. It’s about helping others, supporting your community and being there for people on what can be some of their most difficult days.

A fantastic achievement by all eight members and a great addition to the operational capability of both brigades.

Congratulations, and we look forward to seeing you out on the trucks! 🚒🔥

Thanks to Menzies Creek Fire Brigade for bringing along one of their vehicles for the assessment.

27/09/2026

🔥🏡 GET FIRE READY — ONE JOB A WEEK 🏡🔥

🔥 WEEK 1

🔥 ONE JOB THIS WEEK: MOVE YOUR WOODPILE

Walk around your home and ask:

“If an ember landed here, what would it ignite?”

If your firewood is stacked beside the house, against a wall, underneath a deck or next to a shed, move it away from buildings and other combustible materials.

If you have a woodpile sitting beside your house, shed, deck or verandah, now is the time to move it.

🔥 WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?

It might seem harmless. It might have been sitting there all winter. But when bushfire season arrives, that woodpile becomes a significant source of fuel.

During a bushfire, we’re not only dealing with flames. Embers can travel a long way ahead of the fire front, landing in and around your property. If those embers ignite your woodpile, you can suddenly have a large, intense fire burning right next to your home.

And once that woodpile catches alight, it can generate enormous heat and flames, potentially igniting nearby vegetation, decking, walls, windows, eaves or other combustible materials.

That's why CFA recommends moving your winter woodpile away from your house and sheds before fire season.

The aim is to create separation between your home and anything that can burn.

🔥 YOUR FIRE READY CHALLENGE & JOB THIS WEEK🏡

Take a walk around your property and ask yourself:

👉 Where is my firewood stored?
👉 Is it right beside my house, deck or shed?
👉 Could an ember land on it?
👉 Is there dry grass, leaves, bark or other fuel underneath or around it?

If the answer is yes, it's time to move it.

And remember, property preparation isn't about making your home completely fireproof—it’s about reducing the amount of fuel available to a fire and giving your home a better chance of surviving.

So don't wait until the first hot, windy day.

CFA resource
https://www.cfa.vic.gov.au/ArticleDocuments/449/The_well-prepared_property.pdf.aspx

Move the woodpile now. Create some separation. Reduce the fuel. Get Fire Ready.

🔥 Let's get Emerald Fire Ready. 🔥

🚒 ONE JOB. ONE WEEK. ONE SAFER PROPERTY.

Call to action

📸 Why not take a before and after photo and show us your progress?

Small jobs completed now can make a big difference when fire season arrives.

Next week we'll give you another simple task to help prepare your home for bushfire season.



Emerald Fire Brigade
Serving our community. Preparing together. Helping our community get Fire Ready.



Property preparation can reduce bushfire risk, but it does not make a property fireproof. Always have a Bushfire Survival Plan and know when you will leave.

26/09/2026

This morning Emerald Fire Brigade along with other emergency services agencies Ambulance Victoria, Victoria Police and Victoria State Emergency Service were responded to a single vehicle rollover on Belgrave Gembrook Road in Emerald.

Thankfully, the occupant escaped without serious injury.

As we head towards the warmer months, it’s a timely reminder that changing weather can bring changing road conditions. After rain, roads can become slippery and conditions can change quickly.

Please take extra care, drive to the conditions and allow a little more time to reach your destination safely.

Stay safe on our roads.

Thanks to Clematis Volunteer Fire Brigade, Monbulk Fire & Rescue (CFA) and SES Emerald Unit for their assistance.

24/09/2026

🔥🏡 GET FIRE READY — ONE JOB A WEEK 🏡🔥

Bushfire preparation doesn’t have to happen all at once.

That’s why Emerald Fire Brigade is launching our “Get Fire Ready — One Job a Week” campaign.

Over the coming weeks, we’ll be sharing one simple property-preparation task each week to help local residents get their homes and properties ready for the upcoming bushfire season.

Each week, we’ll show you:

🔥 WHAT to do
🏡 WHY it matters
🌿 HOW to do it safely
🎥 Helpful videos and information from CFA
✅ A simple job you can complete that week

We’ll be looking at things such as:

🪵 Moving woodpiles away from houses and sheds
🍂 Clearing leaves, bark and other fine fuels from around your home
🌿 Managing long grass and vegetation
🏡 Checking gutters and roofs
🪟 Checking windows, doors and other vulnerable areas
🔥 Looking at your property's defendable space
🌳 Identifying and managing potential fuel around buildings
🚗 Making sure vehicles, equipment and other items are safely stored
💧 Checking water supplies and access
📋 Reviewing your Bushfire Survival Plan


🙋‍♀️ WHAT ARE WE ASKING YOU TO DO?

Just one job a week.

We’re asking every household in our community to set aside a little time each week to complete that week's task.

You don't need to transform your entire property in one weekend.

Start small.

One job. One week. One step closer to being Fire Ready.

Take a walk around your property, look at it through a bushfire lens and ask yourself:

👉 What could burn?
👉 Where could embers land?
👉 What can I remove, move or maintain?
👉 Have I made a plan for what I will do if a fire threatens?

Remember, there is no such thing as being completely bushfire-proof, but preparing your property can help reduce the potential impact of fire and ember attack.

We’ll be here each week to help you understand what you can do.

📅 Follow Emerald Fire Brigade, invite your friends to join our page and look out for our weekly GET FIRE READY post.

🔥 ONE JOB A WEEK.
🏡 ONE SAFER PROPERTY AT A TIME.
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 LET'S GET OUR COMMUNITY FIRE READY.

Emerald Fire Brigade
Serving our community. Preparing together. Helping our Community Get Fire Ready.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZfhCes7R80

Learn about what you can do to prepare your property for fire this ...

23/09/2026

On the 5th September Emerald Fire Brigade held its annual Presentation Night. This night was particularly significant being our 85th anniversary protecting the community.

We would like to congratulate all award winners on the night in particular:

15 Years – Capt Klaus Brodeck
25 Years – Lt Mitch Buxton
35 Years Life Membership– Kate Griffin
50 Year Life Membership – FF Trevor Ireland
75 Year Life Membership – Graeme Legge

NSW Premier’s Flood Emergency Citation – FF Mick Hamilton
National Medal - Shane Merrett
National Medal – FF Daniel Sawyer
1st Clasp – FF Adrian Trimnell
3rd Clasp – FF Trevor Ireland
4th Clasp – Ian Woodhouse

Brigade Life Membership – Jody Yandle
Brigade Life Membership – Trevor Ireland

Thankyou also to Kate Cashin Photography for photographing the night for us.

20/09/2026

Today is a great day to clean up your property for the coming fire season but not such a great day to burn off due to the high winds. Please think twice before lighting up.

20/09/2026

The sun is out this morning and so is Emerald Fire Brigade running some drills with both tankers.

30/08/2026

This morning six new recruits crew from Emerald Fire Brigade along with crews from Olinda Rural Fire Brigade, Menzies Creek Rural Fire Brigade, Silvan Fire Brigade (CFA) and Sassafras-Ferny Creek Fire Brigade CFA were out training at the Silvan CFA station.

In the next couple of months the recruits will undergo the General Firefighters course to become operational firefighters ready for the summer season. Thanks to all who participated and to all Trainers and Assessors for spending your Sunday morning assisting.