Cromwell marks 150 years of volunteers fighting fires

Cromwell marked an important milestone this week - one-and-a-half centuries of firefighting by community volunteers.

On September 2, 1874 a meeting was held at the town hall chaired by then Cromwell mayor David Jolly. Its aim, to form a fire brigade.

A report in the Cromwell Argus newspaper six days later described "very fair attendance of the public" at that inaugural get-together.

A meeting is called to establish Cromwell's first firefighting crew (Image/Supplied/Cromwell Argus).

It paints a picture of a growing feeling of vulnerability in the town at the time, especially in light of some "disasters", including a fire just days before in Dunedin.

"Every householder must be struck with a feeling of insecurity and uneasiness, for up to the present time no effort had been made towards any organisation for the extinction of fires and the preservation of property," the newspaper report of the meeting says.

"Storekeepers in the town, who necessarily kept a large stock, which could be only far from wholly insured, must be in constant dread; for nothing whatever can be done to stop a conflagration, which might occur at any moment."

The only real concern flagged at the meeting - the lack of a decent town water supply, but the report concluded those in attendance weren't willing to let that stop them.

Fast-forward exactly 150 years, and another bunch of dedicated locals gathered on Monday night for a monthly meeting of that same, now every well established, brigade.

Chief fire officer Neil Gillespie says he is one of 35 members of the Cromwell firefighting group - not far off the 22 people that signed up after that first meeting in 1874.

Although he doesn't know how many fires have been fought in the years in between, he does have some good stats at the ready regardless.

"In 1926 it appears that there were 38 musters, including fire calls, meetings and trainings, and last year (ending June 30 2024) we had about 225."

Cromwell is a rapidly growing area, and it continues to call completely on volunteer firefighters to respond to emergencies.

Mr Gillespie has been involved for more than three decades.

"But we’ve got another eight members with more than that – some of us all in the Cromwell Brigade and others with other brigade services."

Preparations are well underway to celebrate the 150th anniversary on October 11 to 13.

Main image (Supplied/Lisa Hill Photography): Members of the Cromwell Volunteer Fire Brigade at their September 2 meeting, exactly 150 years on from the organisation's inception.