Linton Bushfire 1998

5 min read

The Linton bushfire remains one of CFA’s darkest days, claiming the lives of five Geelong West volunteers. This page reflects on the tragedy, honours those lost, and explores the vital safety improvements, training reforms and enduring lessons that have shaped CFA’s commitment to protecting its members.

Summary

In 1998, five CFA volunteer firefighters from Geelong West died when a sudden wind change caused the Linton blaze to overrun their tanker.
The incident marked a turning point for CFA safety, prompting major reforms in training, planning, procedures and equipment.
Mandatory minimum skills training for all new firefighters was introduced as a direct outcome of the coronial inquest.
Lessons from the tragedy, including truck burn-over procedures, remain part of CFA safety practices today.
CFA later created the “Linton staff ride” to honour the fallen firefighters and provide experiential learning for crews and incident management teams.

A tragic loss

The tragic loss of five firefighters in the Linton blaze on 2 December 1998 marked the beginning of a new era for firefighter safety at CFA.

In a fire that had started on private property and spread through more than 600 hectares of bush and farmland, tragedy struck when a savage wind change swept through earlier than expected.

After 8pm that day, at a forest fire north of the small town of Linton near Ballarat, two tankers – one from Geelong City and one from Geelong West - were engulfed by flames after the change in wind direction.

The Geelong City crew had more water on board and were able to protect themselves as the flames leapt to treetop height and raged over them. The Geelong West crew was trapped in their truck and unable to escape or fight back. All five volunteers perished.

We remember and honour the lives of Christopher Evans, Jason Thomas, Matthew Armstrong, Stuart Davidson and Garry Vredeveldt from Geelong West. We will always reflect on the Linton fires and the practices learned from them in protecting today’s CFA volunteers.

Changes since the Linton Fire

The Linton fire resulted in the biggest change in CFA history for training requirements for our members. Following the deaths at Linton, a coronial inquest recommended changes be made to planning, procedures and CFA equipment. The learnings about safety and procedures in a truck burn over are now used by firefighters today. Minimum skills for firefighters were introduced as part of that change which is now mandatory for all new firefighters.

The Linton Staff Ride

As a learning and memorial experience, CFA ran the ‘Linton staff ride’ for several years. Occurring at the site of the fire, the staff ride invited members to ‘walk in the shoes’ of the firefighters on that fateful day. By recreating the experience through storytelling, the ride was also used as a way to train Incident Management Teams and firefighters who might one day be faced with the same situation.