Menangle Rural Fire Brigade

09/05/2026

Yesterday morning Menangle Rural Fire Brigade volunteers assisted a local family to undertake a pile burn on their property. This was to reduce fuel load on the property and thus reduce the property owners risk of fire. If you need to undertake a pile burn and would like information or support to do this safely, please reach out to the brigade.

09/05/2026

Have you cleaned your chimney or flue recently? If you're lighting up your fireplace this weekend, ensure you check your chimney.

Use a torch to check for creosote build-up or obstructions like bird nests.

Have your chimney professionally cleaned annually.

Find out more about keeping safe during winter at www.cfa.vic.gov.au/homefire

23/04/2026

It has been a busy week for Menangle Rural Fire Brigade attending six emergency call-outs and with crews supporting hazard reduction burns in the Southern Highlands over three days.

Emergency call-outs included grass/ bush fires, a vehicle fire, a HAZMAT incident and a structure fire.

A reminder that even though conditions are cooling down, fuel loads are high and the risk of grass and bush fire is ongoing. Crews from RFS will be taking advantage of weather conditions over coming weeks to continue undertaking hazard reduction burns.

Be sure to have downloaded and installed Hazards Near Me and set-up a watch zone to be aware of fires and hazard reduction activity happening near you.

16/04/2026

A busy day for Menangle Rural Fire Brigade. Our Cat 9 is currently onsite at a Hazard Reduction burn in Yerrinbool. Burns such as this are important to reduce the fire risk in the 2026/27 fire season.

This afternoon our Cat 1 was also paged to a grass fire in Douglas Park.

01/04/2026

The Official Bush Fire Danger Period concluded at midnight today (31 March 2026) for the Wingecarribee Shire Council and Wollondilly Shire Council LGA's.

From Wednesday 1 April, fire permits will no longer be required for residents, except those properties within the town limits of Warragamba, Picton, Mittagong, Moss Vale, Bowral and Bundanoon, who are required to obtain a fire permit from Fire & Rescue NSW all year round.

Even though a fire permit is no longer required, you must still notify your neighbours and the local fire authority 24 hours before burning as well as comply with any Council Backyard Burning Policies (Wollondilly Council's General Approval to Burn).

Before lighting up, you should also check the forecast weather conditions and have sufficient equipment on hand to control and contain the fire to your own property. Failure to notify neighbours or the RFS, or allowing a fire to escape can result in significant fines.

To notify of your intent to burn, use the online burn notification tool at www.rfs.nsw.gov.au/notify or call your local Fire Control Centre during business hours.

22/03/2026

Congratulations to Martin Scott who was elected a brigade Deputy Captain in February 2026. Martin Scott joined Menangle Rural Fire Brigade in January 2020. Martin currently serves as the brigade’s Equipment Officer and previously served as brigade Vice-President. In addition to firefighting, Martin regularly helps around the station including maintaining equipment, washing the trucks, mowing and gardening and assisting with brigade training.

Martin’s calm leadership on the fireground and willingness to share his knowledge and skills with others will make him a valuable addition to our officer group. Thank you for all that you do Martin and congratulations from all our members.

21/03/2026

Menangle and Menangle Park Rural Fire Brigades attended a car fire overnight. The car appears to have been abandoned and thankfully no one was injured. Great work to both crews who worked together to quickly extinguish the fire.

08/03/2026

On International Women's Day, we celebrate the firefighters who serve to protect our communities and keep us safe. Menangle RFS is proud of the vital contributions our female members make, and we congratulate them on the expertise and dedication they bring to the brigade every day.

08/03/2026

Today on International Women's Day 2026 we would like to acknowledge the valuable role female members play not just in our brigade, but across the NSW Rural Fire Service.

We're lucky enough to have 15 female members at Menangle brigade including firefighters, truck drivers, advanced firefighters, village firefighters, community engagement facilitators, structural firefighters and National Medal recipients.

The growth in female representation across the Emergency Services Sector is fantastic to see. There are so many amazing women doing amazing work at both volunteer and professionals and we are so grateful for the work you all do.

If there are any females in our community thinking of joining the brigade please reach out via our page.

27/02/2026

Menangle RFS volunteers are continuing to deliver calendars and Certificates of Appreciation to our amazing 2026 calendar sponsors.

Shout out to the fifth batch of amazing sponsors:
Walkden Law and Mediation
Thirlmere Wholesale Nursery
SS Seeney & Sons (calendar sponsor for seven years)
Pedwards
One Fur All
The Store Menangle (sponsor for over 10 years and supporter of our annual Santa Run)

Thank you to these six great local businesses. Your generous support helps us keep our community and our members safe. Thank you ❤️🚒👨🏽‍🚒👩🏼‍🚒

22/02/2026

Lithium battery fires are one of the biggest home fire risks we all face.

Never leave devices charging unattended or while sleeping, avoid using damaged or aftermarket chargers, and charge on hard, non-flammable surfaces. Immediately stop using batteries that are swollen, hot, or damaged. Store batteries in a cool, dry place and properly recycle them at authorized centers.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1ASpf6hZ1f/

Lithium polymer batteries are popular in remote control toys and hobby gear, but they do need to be treated with care when charging. In this case, multiple Lithium Polymer 'LiPo' batteries were charging at the same time. Add an overloaded power board and things escalated quickly.

Fortunately, the sprinkler system kicked in fast and kept the fire under control until crews arrived. When crews arrived the batteries were in thermal runaway (an explosive intense fire that keeps burning). To stop this, crews submerged and left the batteries in water. The occupant and their dog got out safely. Fire damage was limited, but there was significant water damage to the unit.

If you use LiPo batteries (or any rechargeable batteries), make sure you know how to charge them safely.