CFA District 11 Headquarters Brigade

10/01/2026

DON'T Be a Silly Sausage!... you might want that tender smoky meat. But put the beads down.

It’s Friday. It’s a Total Fire Ban. It’s Catastrophic fire weather.

Somewhere, there is a mate staring lovingly at their offset smoker or weber. They are holding a bag of charcoal. They are thinking, "Low and slow isn't really a fire, is it?"

⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️STOP⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️

Let’s be crystal clear: Solid Fuel BBQs (Wood, Charcoal, Briquettes) are BANNED today. No exceptions. No "just a quick sear."

If it burns solid fuel, it stays cold. If you light it, we have to come over. And if we have to interrupt our lunch to put out your lunch, we won't be polite about it.

Gas or Electric? Maybe. But there are strict rules you need to follow (like having a hose ready and a clear area).

Solid Fuel? Absolutely not.

Check the rules before you turn a k**b or strike a match: 👉 https://www.cfa.vic.gov.au/warnings-restrictions/fire-bans-ratings-and-restrictions/can-i-or-cant-i

Do you know a silly sausage who needs to accept that today is their salad day. 👇

04/09/2024

10 Days to go....
Teams are locked and loaded and competition will be fierce. There's a lot of experience in the Toorloo Bitza team as well as the Orbost Group/Far East Gippsland team both having taken medals at the last games. But we are told that Bairnsdale have been doing a lot of training....and you never know what the youth of Johnsonville will come up with.
Come down and support the Games and the communities and lets spread the word about CFA!

Free BBQ for all.

Bring the kids, as Captain Koala will be there, and there are kids games at lunch time.

Specialist Equipment will be on show including our Specialist Communications Van!

"CFA acknowledges the support of the Victorian Government" through the Valuing Volunteers Program with provides the grant for this event.

26/08/2024

51 garage fires last year! 🥺

Time to spring into action and clean up your Garage! 🔥🏡 🚘
Last year CFA responded to 51 house fires that started in garages / vehicle storage areas.
CFA and Fire Rescue Victoria recommend installing interconnected smoke alarms in your garage if it is attached to your home to ensure you are alerted if a fire was to start.
❗️Removing rubbish, safely storing and charging batteries and turning off all electrical appliances can make your home safer.

12/08/2024

South East Region Community Engagement Forum

Over the weekend, Ken, who serves as a member of D11 HQ Brigade Fire Brigade, had the privilege of attending the South East Region Community Engagement Presenters Forum, which took place in San Remo. This event attracted a group of eleven dedicated members from District 11, who travelled from various locations, including as far away as Bemm River to participate.

The forum was an intensive and highly informative weekend, designed to equip participants with the latest tools, resources, and strategies for effective community engagement. The agenda was packed with a series of workshops, presentations, and displays, all aimed at enhancing the skills and knowledge of those in attendance. Among the many topics covered were advanced presentation techniques, the Smoke Alarm Installation program, the Property Advice Visits program, the Fire Safety Essentials program, and foundational principles of both bushfire and residential fire safety. These sessions provided invaluable insights that are crucial for improving fire safety outcomes in local communities.

In addition to the formal learning opportunities, the forum also included a social component, which allowed attendees to build camaraderie and foster relationships with their peers. A highlight of the weekend was the lively trivia night held on Saturday evening. This event was not only a fun and engaging way to unwind but also fostered a sense of friendly competition among the participants. The winners were awarded charming fire engine lunch boxes, adding a lighthearted touch to the evening's festivities.

Overall, the South East Region Community Engagement Presenters Forum was an outstanding opportunity for professional development. It allowed attendees to expand their knowledge and skills, share best practices, and network with fellow brigade members from across the southeast region. The insights and connections gained over the weekend will undoubtedly contribute to the ongoing efforts to enhance fire safety and community resilience throughout the region.

Report by Kylie Martin of Bruthen Fire Brigade

17/07/2024

MITCHELL GROUP EXERCISE

D11 HQ Brigade participated in the recent Mitchell Group Exercise on the weekend.

Senior Leaders of the Mitchell group put their crews through their paces at the Bairnsdale saleyards complex, with over 50 Firefighters & Support members in attendance, including members from Stratford in D10 and members from the Paynesville Rehab unit.

D11 HQ manned the staging area simulating the TCard set up, along with running the FOV running as a communications point for the day and simulating radio traffic from FireCom.

Information packs were given to each Crew Leader along with pager messages that they had to respond to.

Drills for the day included a pumping exercise, BA Hazmat exercise and burnover drills. Lakes Entrance Rescue Unit was also in attendance and took members through the use of their equipment in an MVA scenario.

Lunch was provided by the Rapid Relief Team who have been a fabulous supporter of CFA, and we would like to send a huge thankyou to Simon Cox and the team. Group Officer Len Jeffs said “the food was amazing and the coffee cart was most appreciated”

Well done to everyone who attended.

08/07/2024

EMERGING LEADERS PROGRAM

This weekend saw the kick off of the D11 Emerging Leaders Program for 2024. 18 members from 4 groups, 12 brigades, across the District attended and sat through a marathon first weekend of info and activities. Which included our member and Group Officer Len Jeffs as a presenter.

The weekend kicked off with an opening welcome dinner at the East Bairnsdale Sporting Club with MC Kathryn Williams (DPC Chair & Tambo DGO) introducing Darryl Hunter (ACFO) and Vanessa McLeod (DBM) to speak and welcome the members. Group Officers Rod Baylis (Tambo), Len Jeffs (Mithcell), Ryan Findley (Orbost) and Graham Symons (Omeo) were present to support their members along with Kylie Findley (VST) and Tracey Ruse (Org Development). Along with networking, members found out that there was just over 350 years of experience in the room that night!

Topics for Saturdays ELP included –
Leadership Under stress, which include a presentation by Tracey Ruse from CFA Organisational Development on whole brain thinking and the changes that happen when a person is under stress. Which lead in to a panel interview with James Nicholas (Capt Bruthen and ex-Defence Force), Miles Malcolm (CFA Commander), Erika Lind (DEECA) and Ray Moreland (VicPol).

Brigade Management and Legislation was kicked off by CEC Jodie Burt who talked to group about Community Safety and Education and showed the members a LOT of resources available online as well as the Com Ed Van. Commander Glenn Harrap then covered off CFA Legislation and how it relates to Brigades.

Incident Decision Making was the final topic and members were able to ask plenty of question to panellists Lee Bruse (DGO Mitchell Group), Len Jeffs (GO Mitchell Group), Aaron Lee (Captain Bairnsdale), Christine Bittner (DGO Tambo Group) – all panellists have been or still are captains and shared a lot of inspirational stories about their experiences. This panel was also facilitated by Commander Harrap.

28/06/2024

This is catchy!

15/06/2024

Members of our brigade headed to Orbost to run an info session on the FOV & staging area vehicle at the Orbost Group CFA training day. 5 members participated along with 4 from Paynesville Rehab. ( Paynesville Fire Brigade)
Part of role of the HQ brigade is to provide support to brigades at jobs. Members are also involved in providing education on their role to all members.
Mitchell Group

20/05/2024

Happy National Volunteer week!! We thank all our volunteers for their dedicated support & work day and night!!

09/05/2024

ASSISTING AT LTAT PLANNED BURN

One of the main functions of District 11’s Head Quarters Brigade is to deploy and man the Field Operations Vehicle (FOV) which is a van that contains extensive communications equipment including Starlink internet.

Last Tuesday and Wednesday, the FOV was deployed to assist with the planned burn of 250ha of bush at the Lake Tyers Aboriginal Trust (LTAT)

The planned crew was Howard and Greg were assisted by Terri on Tuesday and Jim on Wednesday. Soon after arrival it became clear that the Staging Area Vehicle (SAV) would also be a great benefit for the Staging Area that was being established, so Kevin was called to bring it to LTAT and Terri and Jim helped across both areas.
Having both vehicles out working gave new member Jimmy H and opportunity to check out the activities and spend time at the Staging Area.

While the SAV managed the gate to the Staging Area, the FOV was set up to provide the communications and mapping facility to assist the Burn Controller. We were fully engaged in monitoring seven (7) radios covering 3 x Fire Ground Sectors, 1 x Command channel, 1 x UHF for FFM as well as the Firecom channel and a portable to the SAV.

Greg said later “Who said life was not meant to be easy?” “While this was happening, we were providing local weather condition broadcasts every 30 minutes to the Burn Controller and Sector Controllers”.

At the FOC they were providing a briefing facility to produce maps and documents for all teams on the fire ground as well as logging and mapping any dangerous tree reports so that rectification work could be promptly carried out.

They were tasked as the catering contact point so that crews could advise when they were leaving the fire-ground to return to the Staging Area for meals. This greatly assisted the Catering staff to have meals ready when the crews arrived.

Both units were left at the scene for lighting for the night crew between the Tuesday and Wednesday nights. The Portable flood lights worked really well and were still operational on Wednesday morning due to great battery life, and were recharged the next day.

"Overall we learnt more activities/services we can provide and other agencies learnt the benefits that we can provide to make their tasks easier.”