Kongwak Fire Brigade

31/05/2026

Last Sunday morning (the 24th of May 2026), we joined other brigades who are part of the Strzelecki Group of Fire Brigades at the Korumburra Showgrounds.

It was good opportunity to learn about other emergency services, including a presentation on road rescue from Loch CFA Fire and Rescue, and a presentation on collisions from Eyewatch – Bass Coast Police Service Area, and medical response advice from Ambulance Victoria.

11/05/2026

On the 2nd of May 2026, the Kongwak and District Fire Brigade held their Awards and Presentation Night, which this year was held in conjunction with the Leongatha South Fire Brigade and Koonwarra Fire Brigade.

The CFA (Country Fire Authority) was proud to present Brian Brown with his 60 year service medal, Neil Grabham with his 55 year service medal, and Albert Jolly and Gary Dorling with medals for 15 years service.

Congratulations to all those who received awards, and as you can tell by those years of service, they are a very experienced and enthusiastic group of volunteers who have served this local community for many decades.

Thank you to all who attended, including our neighbouring brigades.

01/05/2026

Late this morning (the 1st of May 2026), the Kongwak and District Fire Brigade along with the CFA Inverloch and the Pound Creek Rural Fire Brigade responded to a grass and scrub fire which was intensely burning in vegetation at a farm in Outtrim.

Firefighters attended, and located a significant amount of native trees on fire, with parts of the fire burning more than 10 metres in the air, which made it complicated to fight.

The fire also impacted a substantial amount of large fallen branches on the ground, and leaf litter which had built up over the years.

A significant amount of time was spent ‘blacking out’ the ground underneath, as there was a significant amount of fire the in the peat, and rake hoes were used extensively to identify and extinguish hotspots.

This unplanned fire in the area of remnant vegetation was caused by an ember from a burn-off pile, some distance away, being blown into the remnant vegetation, smouldering for some time, and the moderate winds allowing it to burn and grow over time.

The area is still so dry, so fires like this can burn easily, so please make sure that all burn-offs are registered, supervised, and then fully extinguished. You can register your burn off by following this process: https://www.cfa.vic.gov.au/contact/register-your-burn-off

03/04/2026

Yesterday members of our brigade attended a planned burn at Koonwarra to reduce the risk to the community. The burns are planned well in advance with plenty of tankers and crew to ignite and monitor/ extinguish the burn. Please remember when fire restrictions come off in our area on the 7th of April to ensure you have the resources and ability to monitor and extinguish your burn off if needed and please register your burn at firepermits.vic.gov.au

26/03/2026

Even though it is pouring with rain at the moment (how good is it!), the Fire Danger Period remains in place, and is due to be until the 7th of April 2026.

This applies to the areas contained within South Gippsland Shire and Bass Coast Shire .

We will let you know when the Fire Danger Period is lifted.

And, remember that if you are planning on having a burn off when the Fire Danger Period is lifted, you will still need to contact the CFA (Country Fire Authority) to register your burn. More information on this can be found at https://www.cfa.vic.gov.au/plan-prepare/how-to-prepare-your-property/burning-off

15/03/2026

On Saturday (the 14th of March 2026), we assisted multiple other fire brigades from across South Gippsland and beyond with a planned burn that occurred in Nerrena, in and around the Tom Kindellan Reserve.

We sent our truck, and two of our firefighters.

It was a big day, which started early in the morning, and we didn’t get back to Kongwak until almost 10:00pm!

The objective of the burn was to develop fuel reduced areas of sufficient width and continuity to reduce the speed and intensity of bushfires. It also has wonderful environmental impacts and causes great regeneration of our native flora.

This type of burn is similar to the planned burns we have done in and around Pioneer Reserve.

We successfully assisted with burning just on three hectares of land.

Theses burns are also a good training opportunity for us as well, so we try and take part in as many as we can.

It is not uncommon for us to assist local brigades, and they too assist us with planned and unplanned events.

21/02/2026

Check out this impressive work that one of the water bombers did yesterday.

Some of these aircraft are based at Latrobe Airport, so luckily aren't far away when we need them. 😇

18/02/2026

In mid January (2026), Captain Tony Reade, along with other local firefighters from South Gippsland, went away on a strike team to the Tallangatta Valley to support local firefighters who were battling the major fires in the area.

Tony was away for four days, and spent the majority of the time doing fire suppression near the Hume Weir.

Tony appreciated the hospitality of the locals, who in turn appreciated people from across Victoria coming to help them.

16/02/2026

A Total Fire Ban has been declared for the Central, Wimmera, South West, North Central and West & South Gippsland fire weather districts for Tuesday 17 February 2026.

No fires can be lit, or be allowed to remain alight, in the open air from 12:01 AM until 11:59 PM.

More information is available at www.cfa.vic.gov.au/firebans

10/02/2026