One of the enduring thoughts from the Ash Wednesday fires in 1983, which devastated much of the Upper Beaconsfield area and community, was the fact that brigade members were getting to the station after all available appliances had been crewed and deployed.
Only a few resources were left on hand to allow these members to tackle outbreaks in the immediate area, which may have saved or partly saved some of the local commercial area.
Members of the Upper Beaconsfield Fire Brigade team have proposed the idea of creating a hand-drawn trolley a number of times over the years, with longtime brigade member Alan Dale AFSM recently taking the proposal to a brigade meeting and piloting the development of the project.
The brigade purchased the Gorilla hand drawn trolley and sourced, serviced and collected redundant but
operational items.
Stowed within the fire station precinct, the trolley could be operated by operational fire brigade member using the brigade’s reticulated system.
If town water pressures drop in extreme conditions, the hoses could transport water to fight spot fires, with a range of nozzles, fittings, and 150-metres plus of canvas firefighting hose is available for appropriate fire attack.
The trolley would also be used in training and introducing firefghters to firefighting from a ground plug and hydrants without the use of a pump.
