Each year, CFA holds a memorial service to remember those firefighters who gave their lives to protect others and to honour the personal sacrifices and commitment our firefighters make each and every day.
Memorial Service
Instigated as an annual event at Fiskville in 1987, the memorial service affirms the dedication and courage of our firefighters and allows families, brigades and members of our communities to remember our fallen heroes, while reflecting on their exceptional service in protecting communities from harm.
The service has been held in various regional centres around Victoria since 1998, including Bendigo, Wangaratta, Sale, Warrnambool, Shepparton, Lilydale, Leongatha, Stawell, Frankston, Myrtleford, Geelong, Beaconsfield, Ballarat, Wodonga, Churchill and Belmont.
A ceremonial banner embroidered with each firefighter’s name and details is taken to every memorial service to represent the names commemorated on the memorial wall. Sadly, a second CFA banner has now been added to the first. A third banner commemorates the line of duty deaths of firefighters prior to the formation of CFA.
In recent, years the service has been held on the closest Sunday to International Firefighters Day which falls on St. Florian’s Day on 4 May (St. Florian is the Patron Saint of Firefighters).
Firefighters Memorial wall
Following the tragic Ash Wednesday fires of 1983, CFA established a Memorial Wall dedicated to all the men and women of CFA who have lost their lives while serving their communities.
Construction of the memorial wall at the former CFA Training College at Fiskville was completed in December 1986. It was officially opened by the then Premier of Victoria on 12 April 1987.
Victorian Emergency Services Memorial
When Fiskville was closed in 2015, a Memorial Committee was formed to oversee the establishment of a new firefighters’ memorial. The Committee worked closely with the affected families to find the best possible location and outcome for everyone. In 2018, the Minister for Emergency Services announced a new Victorian Emergency Services Memorial to honor fallen members from CFA, MFB, VICSES, Forest Fire Management Victoria (FFMV), Ambulance Victoria, Life Saving Victoria and Marine Search and Rescue (MSAR), to be located at the Treasury Gardens in Melbourne’s CBD.
CFA has worked closely with Emergency Management Victoria to ensure that the new memorial will continue to honour, respect and remember those who lost their lives in the line of duty.
The central location is in a quiet and peaceful setting which is accessible to family members, brigades and community members also wanting to pay their respects.
As a symbol of continuity from the old site, the original plaques from the Firefighter Memorial at Fiskville are built in to the new memorial site in a vault. The names of our fallen firefighters’ are listed on the wall at the new memorial.
The Victorian Emergency Services Memorial was completed in 2020. It is the host to some of CFA’s annual memorial services.
If you have any corrections, comments, or would like to provide a photo of a loved one, please contact volunteerism@cfa.vic.gov.au
* The memorial also commemorates firefighters from CFA’s predecessor organisations, the Country Fire Brigades Board and the Bush Fire Brigades Committee, prior to the formation of CFA.
Page last updated: Thursday, 28 December 2023 11:41:58 AM