Seahampton Rural Fire Brigade

Things to know about Seahampton RFB

 

Established:
The brigade was established early in 1994, in response to the very severe 1993/1994 Fire Season, during which at one point the town of Seahampton came under direct attack and was partly evacuated. After things settled down, the community got together and formed a brigade.

 

Location:

Seahampton is nestled at the foot of Mount Sugarloaf, at the northern end of the Sugarloaf Range, which is the prominent range on the western side of Lake Macquarie. Lake Macquarie is home to Australia's largest coastal lake.

 

Appliances:

We operate two trucks, a Category 1 tanker, and a Category 7 tanker. The Category 1 is a heavy 4WD tanker, carrying about 3300 litres of water, and seating 6 crew. The Category 7 is a light 4WD tanker, carrying about 1500 litres of water, and seating 3 crew. The Cat 1 tanker is our primary appliance and is fully equipped with a variety of hoses, nozzles (branches), fire fighting foam (both Class A and Class B), Compressed Air Breathing Apparatus (CABA), traffic control equipment, and enough food and drinking water to sustain a crew of six for 24 hours. 

 

Activity:

The brigade is one of the busiest in the district. We attend about 220 incidents each year. Of these incidents, about 40% are bush/grass/forest fires, about 45% are village incidents (motor vehicle accidents, vehicle fires, structure fires, oil/fuel spills), and the balance are false alarms. As well as attending incidents the brigade holds regular meetings of it's members, conducts regular training, and participates in community education. The brigade is primary response for an area of 1,983 hectares. We are regularly called upon to back up neighbouring RFS brigades (typically Killingworth, Cameron Park, Wakefield, Awaba, Benwerrin and Mulbring), and we also provide regular mutual aid to neighbouring Fire and Rescue NSW brigades (typically 498 Holmesville, 377 Minmi and 251 Cardiff.)  

 

Brigade Structure:

The brigade is composed of field officers, administrative officers and ordinary members. The field officers hold rank and oversee the brigades combat operations. The administrative officers hold no rank, and oversee the meetings, training, welfare, safety, maintenance and so on. The brigade is managed overall by a management committee, composed of some of the field officers, some of the administrative officers, and three of the ordinary members. The brigade is entirely volunteer, with no paid positions, however it is extensively trained and operates professionally.

 

District Structure:

Seahampton RFB is in the northern group of The Central Coast District. The northern group includes us, Cameron Park, Killingworth and Wakefield. Overall, Central Coast District is comprised of brigades within the Lake Macquarie City, Wyong Shire and Gosford City Council areas. There are a number of Group Captains, who oversee groups of brigades. These Group Captains are arranged geographically, and are also volunteers, though they are given a vehicle to assist them in their duties. Above the Group Captains are paid operational staff who operate from one of the two Fire Control Centres. These are comprised of: Team Manager, Operations Officers, Learning & Development Officers & Fire Mitigation Officers.