140 years ago, on 24 June 1884 the Metropolitan Fire Brigade (MFB) Board was gazette with the first MFB crew appointed and becoming operational on 1 July 1884.
These twenty men were led by the newly appointed Superintendent William Douglas Bear, who originally hailed from the old Insurance Company Fire brigade, No. 1 Volunteer Company and the London Fire brigade. To read more about Chief Superintendent Bear check out this blog about him.
The records reveal unique and interesting stories for each of these twenty men. Here are some of the most notable.
Third Class Fireman Henry Salter joined the MFB after transferring from the London Fire Brigade and he would go on to be appointed as the Superintendent of the Adelaide Fire Brigade, just nine months later in April 1885. This was indeed a meteoric rise for the English fireman however it is well recorded that his numerical attendance of fires was far superior to all of the men he led in Adelaide, even those who had also hailed from the London Fire brigade. Due to the isolated nature of Adelaide, Salter had a tough time training the brigade, especially as they did not receive a steam engine for many years.
Back in Sydney, many of this original crew would have distinguished careers within the MFB.
The MFB’s first Engineer William McKnight was appointed the senior man in charge of No. 2 George Street West when it was opened in August 1886. He was joined by original MFB Second Class Firemen Farrier Joseph Stanchell and John Snelson. While Snelson was appointed the man in charge of No. 3 Marrickville (later changed to No. 7 and re-named Stanmore) in May 1886, and would remain at Marrickville for the remainder of his career until he retired in 1896, Stanchell remained at George Street West until 1916 when he died, at which time he was afforded a full firefighters funeral.
Many of these original twenty firefighters had equally distinguished careers, however few would continue their careers after the Fire Brigades Act was extended across the state and the MFB became the NSW Fire Brigade in 1910. One man who held the record for longest serving firefighter at the time of his retirement was original MFB crew member, George Gray. He was a former member of the Insurance Company Fire Brigade and was appointed to the MFB in the role of Second Class Fireman. He was one of the first firefighters to live in the new No. 1 Station (today City of Sydney) after it was built and he also served at George Street West, Circular Quay (the Rocks), Stanmore and Alexandria Fire Stations before retiring in 1921. Completing 37 years of service, excluding his prior service with the Insurance Company Fire Brigade.
Sadly, two of these first twenty firefighters would die while attending incidents.
Frederick Fisher had been a member of the No. 1 Volunteer Company before being appointed to the MFB in 1884 as a third-class fireman. Within three months he had been promoted to second class fireman however his career within the brigade was cut short when he was killed while attending a fire on Parramatta Road, Leichardt, after a falling wall crushed him on 25 May 1886.
Similarly, Edward Charles Brown had a bright career ahead of him when he was also killed by falling debris, this time at a fire on 1 September 1894. He had served in the Insurance Brigade Company before joining the inaugural MFB crew. In 1892 he was promoted to officer in charge of Newtown Fire Station before sadly dying on duty.
The First MFB appointed 1 July 1884:
Name | Rank at Appointment | Previous Brigade |
William Douglas Bear | Superintendent | London Fire Brigade |
Edward Ashdown | Engineer | Insurance Company |
William McKnight | Assistant Engineer | Insurance Company |
John McKnight | Assistant Engineer | Insurance Company |
Frederick Kirchen | Second Class Fireman | Insurance Company |
George Gray | Second Class Fireman | Insurance Company |
William Gelling | Second Class Fireman | Insurance Company |
Thomas Mackie | Second Class Fireman | Insurance Company |
Edward Charles Brown | Second Class Fireman | Insurance Company |
Albert Olley | Second Class Fireman | Insurance Company |
Walter Seymour | Second Class Fireman | Insurance Company |
Farrier Joseph Stanchell | Second Class Fireman | Insurance Company |
Frederick Woolff | Second Class Fireman | Insurance Company |
John Snelson | Second Class Fireman | Insurance Company |
Charles Alexander Stanton | Second Class Fireman | Insurance Company |
Henry Salter | Third Class Fireman | London Fire Brigade |
Solomon Samuel | Third Class Fireman | No. 1 Volunteer Company |
Frederick Fisher | Third Class Fireman | No. 1 Volunteer Company |
Charles Robertson | Third Class Fireman | No. 1 Volunteer Company |
This is just one of the many stories the Museum has been sharing about the establishment of Fire and Rescue NSW to celebrate 140 years of the organization. To read more about the 140 years of the brigade check out these blogs:
Stay tuned for more blogs about the 140 years of FRNSW!
-Blog by the Museum of Fire Heritage Team
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