Five minutes to midnight, Friday, December 28 the brigade was called out to a fire at Roy Road, north of Cowaramup. The 4.4 and 1.4 responded and found over a kilometre of road in flames resulting from a tree coming down on a power line. The 4.4 attacked the fires in the tree tops with its cannon while the 1.4 focused on fires in the undergrowth. Later the 4.4 drafted water to other trucks from a local farm dam.
After about three hours the 4.4 was called off to attend a fire at the Margaret River Dairy Company factory on Bussell Highway, about 10 k away. Initially the crew supplied water from a tank behind the factory to SES firefighters attacking the fire. Later the 4.4 was replaced by the Dunsborough 3.4 and then backed up the Yallingup Coastal crew as they got their BA baptism of fire. The crew was stood down at 6:30 am. Meanwhile the 1.4 had been stood down at 5:30.
The arson squad was subsequently called in to investigate the fire and damages were estimated at $5 million but the fire was contained to the main building.
From midnight until 5 am the brigade for the first time made good use of the Go Natural snackbars, donated in December. The shire came through with a good breakfast at sunrise.
Yallingup Rural Volunteer Bush Fire Brigade 