From tin sheds and red brick buildings to weatherboard structures and ex-army Nissen huts, the home base for CFA brigades across Victoria has evolved significantly over the past 80 years.
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In the early 1950s, when post-war shortages had ended, large numbers of tin shed fire stations began to appear across rural Victoria.
CFA infrastructure services general manager Paul Santamaria said CFA first decided to borrow funds from the government in 1951 to put toward the construction of new fire stations.
Fire station in Ballan.
“While farm sheds were the garages for rural fire brigades pre the 1950s, some primitive stations were also made of fibro cement,” he said.
“From 1953, CFA embarked on building galvanised iron sheds for rural brigades, renovating and extending urban fire stations and building several new ones.
“We borrowed £50,000 to build 40 sheds for rural fire trucks and urgently needed urban fire stations. Brigades often erected the two-bay or single-bay prefabricated iron buildings themselves.”
The tin sheds have become landmarks throughout Victoria, appearing in clearings without a house in sight, and were deemed a public sign of a community prepared to defend itself.
“Back then, brigade members lent horses, ploughs and scoops to level the ground of the new sites, and working bees took place to build the stations. Local fundraisers were held to pay for sirens and connect electricity,” Mr Santamaria said.
New style station in Huntly.
During the 2000s, a new generation of modern sheds and stations with additional facilities replaced older stations around the state, with greater consideration for sustainability and of diverse communities and membership.
In 2025, the latest, fit-for-purpose facilities can include drive-through motor bay rooms and ancillary sheds for equipment, separate toilet facilities and turnout areas to ensure privacy for CFA members.
