Daylesford CFA

20/08/2026

AFAC News has released the Australian Seasonal Bushfire Outlook for Spring. The outlook suggests an earlier start to the bushfire season this year. Drought-affected areas in parts of eastern and western Victoria are facing an increased bushfire risk leading into spring and summer.

Under the forecast conditions, there is potential for multiple large fires starting as early as October across parts of the state.

Now is a great time to start preparing your plan and property, including:
📋 Updating your fire plan
🌱 Mowing long grass
🏡 Clearing gutters.

For more tips on how you can get ready for the upcoming fire season, visit cfa.vic.gov.au/plan-prepare/how-to-prepare-your-property.

18/08/2026

❄️ Cooler weather means heaters, fireplaces and electric blankets are back in use—but it also means an increased risk of house fires.

A few simple reminders can help keep your household safe this winter:

🔥 Keep anything that can burn at least 1 metre away from heaters and fireplaces.
�🧺 Avoid drying clothes or towels on or too close to heaters.
�🌙 Always turn heaters off before going to bed or leaving home.
�🪵 Make sure fireplace embers are completely extinguished before leaving the room or going to sleep.
�🚨 Test your smoke alarms regularly to make sure they're working.

🧺 Clean the lint filter in your clothes dryer after every use.

A little preparation goes a long way towards keeping everyone safe this winter. ❤️

For more winter heating safety information, visit the CFA website:�https://www.cfa.vic.gov.au

Image credits: CFA (Country Fire Authority)

13/08/2026

🔥 Learn more about bushfire behaviour and fuel management

As we head towards the warmer months, with a predicted El Niño weather pattern for spring and summer, understanding how bushfires behave and what influences their spread can help us all be better prepared.

Hepburn Shire Council is hosting a FREE Fire Behaviour and Fuel Management Afternoon Tea in Daylesford on 2 September. The session will explore how fire behaves in different conditions, the importance of fuel management, and practical ways communities can reduce bushfire risk.

Whether you're new to the area or have lived here for years, this is a valuable opportunity to build your understanding of bushfire preparedness and resilience.

👉 Find out more and register here: https://www.hepburn.vic.gov.au/Places-activities/Events/Events-activities/Fire-behaviour-and-fuel-management-Afternoon-Tea-Daylesford-1990363298204

We encourage anyone interested in learning more about bushfire preparedness to attend.

12/08/2026

A working smoke alarm could give you the precious time you need to escape a house fire.

Smoke alarms protect us 24 hours a day—but only if they're working.

Take a few minutes this week to:
✔️ Test your smoke alarms every month by pressing the test button.
✔️ Gently vacuum away dust to keep them clean.
✔️ Replace the battery every year (if your alarm has a replaceable battery).
✔️ Replace smoke alarms that are more than 10 years old.

It's a small job that can make a life-saving difference for you and your loved ones.

For more information about choosing, installing and maintaining smoke alarms, visit the CFA website:

https://www.cfa.vic.gov.au/plan-prepare/fires-in-the-home/smoke-alarms

Want to support your local 100% volunteer brigade? Visit us at:
https://daylesfordcfa.org.au

Photo credit: CFA (Country Fire Authority)

04/08/2026

📊 July 2026 Turnout Statistics 📊

July was another busy month for our volunteers, with 12 incidents attended across our community and surrounding areas.

Across those 12 call-outs:
🚨 7 alarms
🚗 1 motor vehicle collision/rescue
🏠 1 structure fire
🚑 1 assist to Ambulance Victoria
📋 2 miscellaneous incidents

Our members responded on average every 2.5 days, with 97 volunteer turnouts and 19 appliance responses throughout the month.

As our new social media pages complete their first month online, we’d like to say a heartfelt thank you to everyone who has followed along, liked, shared and supported our posts. Your support helps us share important safety information, keep our community informed, and showcase the incredible work of our volunteers.

To learn more about our brigade, support us, volunteer, or make a donation, visit our website:
🌐 www.daylesfordcfa.org.au

Thank you for supporting your local CFA brigade. ❤️

04/08/2026

31/07/2026

On Thursday evening Daylesford Tanker One & Two supported Franklinford CFA in helping to extinguish a house fire near Yandoit.

Daylesford assisted with supply of BA crew that conducted internal attack and also water carriage for tanker relay.

31/07/2026

Meet our trucks!

We have four trucks (appliances) and two support vehicles at Daylesford CFA. Two Tankers, a Pumper and a Rescue truck.

Which trucks we use for each call out depends on the type of call out we are responding to. Scroll through the images to learn more about our trucks. You can find more information on each truck on our website, https://daylesfordcfa.org.au/aboutus

29/07/2026

From The Captain: Change of season, change of fire danger.

In winter the dangers posed by bush fires fade from our daily thoughts.
But the colder weather brings with it another set of dangers for those unaware of how easily a cosy wood fire can turn into a serious house fire via a chimney or flue that has not been cleaned regularly or at least cleaned for the new burning season.

The culprit is creosote: the sticky, smelly tar like substance that overtime builds up inside the flue or chimney. Much like the way plaque can build up in our arteries causing a health crisis, creosote builds up out of sight and out of mind until the moment a major problem occurs.

Creosote is formed when wood is burned incompletely and the resulting smoke containing unburned fuel condenses and solidifies on the cooler surface like chimney walls. It’s a complex mixture of chemicals, primarily hydrocarbons and other organic compounds.

In a flue or chimney that has been poorly maintained the creosote deposits can build up to be several centimetres thick thereby reducing the airflow and causing a rapid build up of more and more residue.

Creosote is highly flammable and when ignited inside a flue or chimney the fire can reach temperatures of around 1000 degrees. In a metal flue, this excessive heat transfer can char and eventually ignite the timber frame of the house. In a brick chimney this temperature can crack open old masonry and mortar allowing burning material to fall into the roof space. These types of fires can go undetected for hours because they tend to happen under the cover of darkness when we are all tucked up in bed asleep.

A flue or chimney fire is usually first detected by the sound popping or crackling or even a jet engine like roaring coming from inside the roof. Smoke may be visible inside the house as it is not able to escape. Sparks or flames may be visible coming from the flue or chimney.

So, what to do if this happens? Firstly, evacuate all people and pets out of the house. Call 000 and get your local CFA fire brigades responding!

Prevention of course as the saying goes is better than cure. Making sure your flue or chimney is cleaned and clear before burning season is a really good idea. Not only creosote can be a problem; birds’ nests, possums and dislodged masonry can all by lurking inside unseen.

Remember: For bushfires, house fires and rescues your local CFA fire brigades will always come day or night when you call 000.

To learn more about the Daylesford CFA, how you can volunteer or support the brigade please visit https://daylesfordcfa.org.au Image credits: CFA (Country Fire Authority)

26/07/2026

This morning Daylesford CFA responded to an alarm call out at The Rex.

Tanker 1 and our Pumper were on scene to investigate what luckily turned out to be a false alarm. We are happy to know the new fire system works.

Thank you to everyone who evacuated and kept the area clear so our crew could investigate as quickly as possible.
If you see us attending a scene with lights, sirens or both, it is a real event not a drill.

Thanks also to Hepburn CFA and Daylesford Tanker 2 who were on their way until it was discovered to be a false alarm.