It is the fifth oldest fire station in NSW, but the Summer Street building is still in use with fire crews responding to 1200 calls each year from the 118-year-old building.
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According to the Museum of Fire, the Orange Fire Station was built in 1904 is the oldest still-in-use fire station outside of Sydney.
Now operating as NSW Fire and Rescue the station has three trucks and is operated 24-hours a day.
Station officer Brad Monico said because each shift is for 24 hours it has facilities including a mess room with a full kitchen, a training room, offices, a gym and rooms for people to rest between call-outs for fatigue management.
"They have to be ready to go at all times though," Mr Monico said.
"Because we do 24-hour shifts we are allowed to manage our fatigue.
![Six firemen and a fire engine outside the Fire Station in Summer Street. Built in 1904, the Orange Fire Station is the fifth oldest station in NSW. Picture taken in 1927. Picture from Central West Libraries Six firemen and a fire engine outside the Fire Station in Summer Street. Built in 1904, the Orange Fire Station is the fifth oldest station in NSW. Picture taken in 1927. Picture from Central West Libraries](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/GpZJ7bTi6nvXt5tnNdnKeU/cacd996e-f624-4748-8ee1-36ebe4add031.jpg/r0_0_647_1078_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
He said the 24-hour shifts are manned by a permanent crew but there are also about 21 to 23 on call fire fighters, including a woman, who have various careers and are paid by the hour to come in if a second truck is needed or to man the station while the first crew is out.
Mr Monico said there are four crew members for each truck .
The job has been described as going from zero to 100 miles an hour with call outs ranging from fires, fire alarms, motor vehicle crashes, people getting trapped in vehicles or machinery, industrial accidents, as well as hazardous material incidents such as chemical spills or gas leaks.
In addition to the call outs though the crews are also responsible for keeping equipment in working order and keeping the station clean as there are no external cleaners.
"On a personal level, it's a great job," Mr Monico said.
![Orange Fire Brigade outside the first Fire Station in Anson Street in about 1900. Several men are seated on an engine drawn by four horses; others are standing beside two firehoses mounted on wheels. This image appears in the publication Celebrating Orange. Picture from Central West Libraries Orange Fire Brigade outside the first Fire Station in Anson Street in about 1900. Several men are seated on an engine drawn by four horses; others are standing beside two firehoses mounted on wheels. This image appears in the publication Celebrating Orange. Picture from Central West Libraries](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/GpZJ7bTi6nvXt5tnNdnKeU/ef63b8bb-ef92-4ebf-8e94-51c9da3cf591.jpg/r0_87_1000_687_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
In 1868 Orange Council took steps to establish a local fire brigade, which was formed in early 1870.
However, it was not reported to have attended any fires until 1871.
At that time the brigade was made up of volunteers and operated off the contributions from the local community and a small insurance company in Sydney.
The brigade ceased to exist for a period in the 1870s but the Australian Town and Country Journal reported that a new fire brigade had been formed in Orange in 1880.
On December 5, 1881, the brigade received a new appliance and the following day they put it to use at a fire at a local hotel and the nearby School of Arts was saved.
![Seventeen firemen with a horsedrawn fire engine outside Orange's first fire station in Anson Street. Picture from Central West Libraries Seventeen firemen with a horsedrawn fire engine outside Orange's first fire station in Anson Street. Picture from Central West Libraries](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/GpZJ7bTi6nvXt5tnNdnKeU/8409d05b-c0da-445e-a1e1-fef528685ad1.jpg/r0_16_999_704_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
The first station was build in Anson Street, after the council allocated a space for it to use in 1882.
In 1888 a second brigade, the East Orange Fire Brigade was also established.
In 1892, the Orange Fire Brigades Board consisted of the Orange mayor as chairman and representative of the counci, JM Paul as representative for the government, JS Leeds as representative for the insurance underwriters and CJ Smith as representative for the volunteer firemen, and the town clerk FJ Mullhollland was the board's secretary.
The brigade consisted of a captain with a retaining fee of £27 per annum, an engineer who received £12 per annum, 10 firemen who received £6 per annum and two lantern boys who received £3 per annum.
Those funds were provided by the Orange Municipal Council, the State Government and the insurance underwriter.
In 1900 members of the brigade resigned and a new brigade was formed under a local Fire Brigades Board.
The brigade moved into its current Summer Street building, without the annexes on either side, in 1904.
This is the building which NSW Fire and Rescue continues to operate out of today.
In 1912 the east and west Orange municipalities were reunited so in 1913 the East Orange Fire Station was closed and dismantled.
In the early years, the brigade was responsible for one square mile and did not include East Orange.