AGY-3764 | Orange Fire Station

Full description

A Fire Brigade is reported as being in existence in Orange in 1877. (1) By 1893 the Fire Brigade was controlled by the Orange Fire Brigades Board and in 1893 the Board erected a fire station in the town. (2) The Orange Fire Brigades Board consisted of the Mayor of Orange as Chairman and representative for the Orange Council, Mr JM Paul representative for the Government, Mr JS Leeds representative for the Insurance Underwriters, and Mr CJ Smith representative for the volunteer firemen. The Town Clerk, Mr FJ Mullholland, was Secretary to the Board. (3)

The Orange Fire Brigade consisted of a Captain with a retaining fee of £27 per annum, an Engineer who received £12 per annum, ten Firemen who received £6 per annum, and two Lantern Boys who received £3 per annum. The Brigade’s funds were provided by the Orange Municipal Council, the State Government, and the Insurance Underwriter. (4)

The Orange Fire Brigades Board operated under the Fire Brigades Act of 1902 until responsibility for the Brigade was transferred to the Board of Fire Commissioners under the Fire Brigades Act 1910. (5)

In the early years, the Orange Fire Brigade was responsible for one square mile and did not include East Orange. The early fire station was located in Anson Street but by 1917, the Station was situated in Summer Street, and consisted of a two-floor brick building. In 2000, Orange Fire Station continued to be located in Summer Street, Orange. (6)

In 2021 Orange Fire Brigade was situated in the Regional West 2 (RW2) Zone and its address was 79 Summer Street, Orange. (7)

ENDNOTES
1. Information from Station Officer Bartle in Reports of Inspections of Fire Stations by members of the Board, 15 October 1917, State Records reference number 20/14884.
2. Information relating to fire stations, State Records reference number 14/1737.2.
3. Information from Station Officer Bartle in Reports of Inspections of Fire Stations by members of the Board, 15 October 1917, State Records reference number 20/14884.
4. loc. cit.
5. Reports of Inspection of Fire Stations by members of the Board of Fire Commissioners, Inspection at Orange on 15 July 1915, State Records reference number 20/14884.
6. NSW Fire Brigades website: http://www.nswfb.nsw.gov.au/about/stations_all.asp?Search_string=GET+FULL+LISTING accessed 7/8/2000. Copy on State Records File 00/38.
7. NSW Fire and Rescue, Fire Station Finder, https://www.fire.nsw.gov.au/page.php?id=9210&station=233 (accessed 2 September 2021).