Station Spotlight : 426 Perisher Valley NSW

We had an opportunity to chat with the crew from 426 Perisher Valley Fire Station about how their station is staffed, the appliances they use and what firefighting is like for them!

Staffing

Winter Season (June Long Weekend – Oct Long Weekend)

• Station officer and 4 Permanent Firefighters
• 3 Watches of 5 staff – 5-6 week stints + Retained Staff (9 RetFF)

Outside of Winter Season

• Station reverts to fully retained with a current strength of 9 firefighters

Appliances

• Rescue Composite 4×4 Tanker
• 2 x Hagglund Oversnow ATV Firefighting Appliances
• 4 x Yamaha Snowmobiles (Ski Trailers used to carry first attack equipment – SCBA, hose, breaching and branches)
• 2 x Polaris 6 Wheel Bikes

We are the only “on snow” fire station in NSW – We currently have the only Hagglund Appliances on the mainland as well!

Incidents

It’s a mixed bag, we attend Fire Alarms, Motor-Vehicle Accidents of varying severity, Oil on roads and Spillages, Vehicle fires (ranging from small cars to busses!). We also regularly assist NSW Ambulance with carries and extrication’s, along with securing the helipad, which is behind the fire station.

Outside of the ski season rescue is covered by a dual rescue response with the SES. During the ski season when our staffing changes, we take over as sole primary rescue for the Charlotte pass, Perisher, Smiggins and Guthega villages. Police are backed up by the SES for remote area Search and Rescue incidents.

Roles

We are a primary rescue station which means we provide rescue coverage for domestic, industrial and road crash rescue. We are constantly out and on the move conducting home fire safety checks for the community, Pre-Incident Plans for large structures or premises, school tours and fire safety talks, it keeps us on our toes!

Thanks to Heather and the crew from 426 for the information, the photos are from Red Watch 2017 and Red Watch 2018!

Deano

I founded Flashover to promote Australian Firefighting. I’ve been a volunteer and a paid firefighter but now I spend my time chasing up leads, promoting good mental health and making the occasional Grumpy Firecom comic!