Firefighters MemorialPrint Page 
The monument commemorates the firefighters who were killed in the Ash Wednesday fires.
On Wednesday 16th February 1983 , a call was received from Narre Warren tanker that they and another tanker from Panton Hill were in trouble and trapped. They where situated on St Georges Road, Upper Beaconsfield, on the top of a hill. When the change came through the fire travelled from High St, up the hill to St Georges Rd, a distance of half a kilometre, in eleven Seconds. With such speed and ferocity, they never stood a chance. The radio went dead, fire-fighters were fighting for their own lives, trying to take cover by getting under their trucks for protection.
At dawn the next morning two burnt out fire trucks and twelve fire fighters where discovered by Narre Warren First Lieutenant, Frank Clarke at St Georges Road, Upper Beaconsfield. One of those on the truck was his Captain, and 5 other members from Narre Warren. Forty seven people, fire-fighters and civilians, were to die on this day at fires all over the state. Forty six of these people died when the wind changed.
Location
| Address: | St Georges Road , Critchley Parker Junior Reserve , Beaconsfield Upper, 3808 |
|---|---|
| State: | VIC |
| Area: | AUS |
| GPS Coordinates: | Lat: -38.001349 Long: 145.39548 Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate. |
Details
| Monument Type: | Monument |
|---|---|
| Monument Theme: | Disaster |
| Sub-Theme: | Fire |
| Actual Event Start Date: | 16-February-1983 |
| Actual Event End Date: | 16-February-1983 |
| Link: | http://www.uts.edu.au/research-and-… |
Dedication
This memorial was erected in memory of the firefighters who lost their lives near this site on
“Ash Wednesday” - 16th February 1983
Narre Warren Rural Fire Brigade Panton Hill Rural Fire Brigade
John Minett Bill Marsden
Dorothy Balcombe Peter Singleton
Lloyd Donovan Maurice Atkinson
Murray Forsythe Stuart Duff
Neil Henry Neville Jeffery
Darrell Wilkes
Casual Firefighter
Keith Busbridge
Country Fire Authority
Forests Commission Victoria
