Community
4 March, 2026
Charlton Fire Brigade celebrates bittersweet birthday
While the brigade marked a moment in history, attendees continued to discuss the shortfalls of their beloved structure.
WHAT should have been a momentous celebration was clouded by the Charlton CFA’s ongoing battle for a new shed.
The crew came together with the community last Thursday to mark the Charlton CFA’s shed turning 95.
While the brigade marked a moment in history, attendees continued to discuss the shortfalls their beloved structure has.
But this wasn’t a time for the team to give up on their campaign to be heard.
“We’ve waited long enough and we won’t stop speaking out until our new shed is standing,” Charlton CFA captain Craig Walsh said.
Community members along with other local brigades in the group came together at the Halliday Street station for a barbeque and cake to celebrate the occassion.
The brigade’s history began when it was formed on December 16, 1885.
The Country Fire Brigade Board then took over in 1895 before the Country Fire Authority in 1946, making the Charlton brigade 141 years old.
However, by 2026 standards, the brigade’s shed does not live up to the needs of members today.
Since 2021, the brigade has had to house its 2020 Iveco Eurocargo Tanker at the back of Walsh Motors, which is 450m from the fire brigade station. The brigade has called for a new, more fit-for-purpose station to be built on the ground that had been purchased back in 2022, but ground is yet to be broken.
Tensions boiled over back in September when Mr Walsh told the NCN Herald of the lack of response from the State Government.
“Here is the reality: we don’t fight fires from the station but we start there,” he said.
“Turnout time matters. Safety matters. Proper decontamination matters. Equipment protection matters. Volunteer retention matters.
“We’ve made it work. We always do. Because that’s what volunteers do. But “making it work” and “being set up for success” are two vastly different things.
“We’re proud of what we do. And we’ll keep showing up with what we’ve got, every single time the pager goes off. We understand we are not the only brigade doing it tough right now and we know plenty of others are facing their own challenges.”
Mildura MP Jade Benham attended the celebrations last week, saying she had hoped to make a funding announcement.
“We’ve been pushing for this for a while, it’s one of my top priorities too,” she said. “We hope that this could be one of the projects we can get started in the first 100 days if we are elected.”
Mary Walklate made the special trip to attend the party and had the honour of cutting the cake. “I have fond memories of the fire bell ringing, you could hear it all across town,” she said.
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