12/07/2026
Christmas in July Training – Bungendore Delivers Challenges, Laughs (and a Few Injuries to the Dummy) 🎅🔥
On Saturday 11 July, Bungendore Brigade hosted Lake George Group 1's inaugural Christmas in July training day, welcoming members from Mulloon Rural Fire Brigade , Hoskingtown-Rossi Rural Fire Brigade, Wamboin Rural Fire Brigade and Boro / Mount Fairy Rural Fire Brigade. Crews were deliberately mixed into unfamiliar teams—because nothing builds teamwork quite like being handed a problem alongside people you've never worked with before.
A huge thank you also goes to Braidwood Rural Fire Service, Captains Flat Rural Fire Brigade - New, and Jerrabomberra Creek Rural Fire Brigade, whose members travelled to Bungendore to help run the training activities. Their support meant more of our Lake George Group 1 volunteers could take part in the scenarios instead of being tied up in them. Quite simply, the day wouldn't have been possible without their generosity, expertise and willingness to give up their time.
The day kicked off with a snakebite rescue across rough terrain, dirt mounds and a goat track (plus some mysterious hollow barrels that appeared to have enrolled themselves in the training program as surprise guest stars). The dummy survived the snakebite... although the extraction may have finished the job.
Next came an animal rescue starring Rudolph the Reindeer, who desperately needed water or Christmas was officially cancelled. With only enough hose to reach halfway, crews somehow managed to move water nearly 100 metres—proving once again that firefighters can make plumbing, physics and Christmas magic work together when Rudolph is depending on them. Christmas was saved.
Property protection threw in a few curveballs—reluctant occupants, a missing Crew Leader and a fire that refused to wait—providing plenty of opportunities to practise decision-making under pressure. (For anyone wondering, all Crew Leaders were eventually located safe and well.)
Over at the Bungendore Learning Hub, crews carried out a smoke-filled building rescue featuring a particularly unique casualty who seemed to have wandered out of Woodstock, found himself in a smoke scenario and decided the best survival strategy was to wait patiently for firefighters to sort everything out. The Hub's smoke alarm also deserves special recognition—we can confirm it works exceptionally well.
The day wrapped up with a series of teamwork challenges that tested skills no training manual has ever covered. The plank walk once again confirmed the scientific fact that every firefighter is somehow left-footed. Next came a Christmas logic puzzle where the elves always told the truth and the Grinches always lied. Teams had to untangle the clues and crack the code before earning the right to move on. Who knew Christmas required quite so much critical thinking? Hose bowling followed, and the official position remains that it is absolutely, definitely rigged—those hoses simply do not roll straight. Then came the grand finale: one-handed Christmas bunting, a deceptively brutal contest against a roll of sticky tape that had clearly completed its own tactical training and refused to cooperate.
The morning finished with a well-earned Christmas lunch of rissoles, Christmas cake and carrot cake—all enthusiastically demolished. No leftovers. No survivors.
It was a fantastic day of practical learning, problem-solving and plenty of laughs, with a few very questionable Santa hats thrown in for good measure. More importantly, it gave volunteers from across Lake George Group 1 another chance to train together, build relationships and strengthen the teamwork that makes a difference when the pagers go off.
Thanks to everyone who came along. Until next time... congratulations on surviving another Bungendore training day! 🚒🎄
Group photo courtesy of The Regional Independent
