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#AceHistoryDesk – By all accounts, it was a typical hot December day in 1991, when all the fire fighters of Tullibigeal raced from the town with their fire-fighting equipment in tow.

” We had a big bushfire out of town on a farm and all of our men were out there with a bushfire truck,” local Maxine Imrie said.

Ms Imrie vividly remembers that dry and windy day, as another grassfire started on the edge of the tiny town in central-west NSW while its fire fighters were away.

“We had a bunch of women and kids and a couple of fellas trying to put this grass fire out with wet bags and buckets of tank water,” she said. 

Ms Imrie remembers “a very senior gentleman, Mr Tom Glasgow” — a local mechanic — arriving with an old Bedford fire truck.

The vehicle was the town’s fire truck from the 1960s onwards but fell into disuse as more modern options became available.

“We got [the truck] going — but thankfully, a crew from Ungarie coming through … [and] helped us put the fire out,” she said.Maxine Imrie said forming an all-female fire brigade was empowering for the women of Tullibigeal.(Supplied: Maxine Imrie)none

The close call prompted the women of Tullibigeal to take fire-fighting matters into their own hands.

About eight them got together and trained themselves on the Bedford truck and formed a women’s brigade.

A tribute to the women’s brigade

The old Bedford fire truck is need of a thorough service but the town is keen to save it.(ABC News: Hugh Hogan)none

The small town, of just over 200 people, is now determined to restore the truck for future generations.

The truck is owned by the Lachlan Shire Council, but is too old for use and has been sitting in a shed gathering dust

“It’s affectionately known now as ‘the ladies truck’ because of the deeds of the ladies in 91,” local Doug Taruffund said.The old truck was the only fire fighting asset left in town when the fire started.(ABC News: Hugh Hogan)none

Mr Turriff is working to preserve the history of the ladies truck, as well as the truck itself.

The council recently secured a $125,000 grant to put the Bedford on display.

“It’s a tribute to them as well to the ingenuity of the ladies to train themselves and get up to scratch on how to use it,” Mr Turiff said.

‘We were kind of trailblazers’

As it became more common for women to become regular RFS members, the women’s brigade dissolved.

But Ms Imrie said learning to fight fires with the old truck was empowering.The old Bedford truck is currently gathering cobwebs at the fire station.(ABC News: Hugh Hogan)none

She eventually went on to become a bushfire captain and president of the local bushfire brigade.

“It was a time when women weren’t really involved in the bushfire [fighting] movement,” she said.

“It was a time when women made sandwiches and … went, ‘No, we’re not going to do that.’”

Ms Imrie said in the early 90s, the women’s brigade caused a buzz and was offered lots of opportunities for training.

“I think we were kind of trailblazers  … and I know that what we were trying to do created a lot of interest,” she said.

“It gave a bunch of girls another interest in a very isolated community.”

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