![]() Logo of the NTFRS | |
Established | 1941 |
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Headquarters | St Stuart Park, Northern Territory |
Membership |
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Director | Steve Rothwell |
Ministry | Police, Fire and Emergency Services |
Website | Official website |
Northern Territory Fire and Rescue Service, or NTFRS, (in conjunction with Bushfires NT [1] ) is the primary provider of fire and rescue services throughout the 1.35 million square km Northern Territory of Australia. It is made up of 27 fire stations, 16 being staffed by volunteer brigade units, 5 being staffed 24 hours a day by career fire fighters, and the remainder by a mix of career and auxiliary fire fighters.
The NTFRS is made up approximately 180 permanent staff working in the regional centres of Darwin, Alice Springs, Tennant Creek, Katherine, Nhulunbuy, Yulara and Jabiru, as well as 54 part-time auxiliaries and approximately 250 volunteers. [2]
The NTFRS is part of the NT Government "Tri-Service", Northern Territory Police, Fire and Emergency Services, or NTPFES. The CEO of the NTPFES and Commissioner of Northern Territory Police in 2022 was Jamie Chalker, APM. The NTPFES falls under the portfolio of the Minister for Police, Fire and Emergency Services. [3]
Unlike many other Australian brigades the NTFRS is relatively young. The first permanent Chief Fire Officer took command of a newly formed Darwin civil brigade on 31 October 1941, however following the Bombing of Darwin by Japanese forces during World War II, fire fighting duties were assumed by the military after general evacuation of the civilian population. This made The Northern Territory Fire Service the only capital city Australian Fire Service to serve under enemy fire. It was not until 1946 that the Darwin civil brigade was reformed, with another small brigade formed in the large regional centre of Alice Springs in 1949.
The original Darwin fire station and fire service headquarters was located in Darwin city on Daly street, this station was closed and the Iliffe street station was opened in Oct 1988. Serving outer Darwin was the Winnellie Fire station opened in 1970–71, which was closed with the opening of the Palmerston Fire station in the newly formed satellite city of Palmerston in 1984. Serving the rural area of Darwin is the Humpty Doo station that was opened in 2005. To better serve the Northern suburbs of Darwin the old Casuarina station was closed and the new Marrara fire station was opened on 14 June 2007.
The history of the NTFRS was researched and written by former Assistant Commissioner of the NT Police Bill Wilson. [4]
Alice Springs Rural (VFB), Bathurst Island (VFB), Virginia Bees Creek (VFB), Howard Springs (VFB), Humpty Doo (VFB), Koolpinyah (VFB), Larrimah (VFB), Yirrkala (VFB), Adelaide River (FERG), Bachelor (FERG), Borroloola (FERG), Elliott (FERG), Mataranka (FERG), Pine Creek (FERG), Timber Creek (FERG)
VFB – Volunteer Fire Brigade
FERG – Fire, Emergency and Rescue Group
NTFRS Vehicles include a new fleet of Scania medium and heavy pumpers, and older medium and heavy Freightliner pumps, an aerial appliance, numerous tankers and grass fire units, plus rescue, command and utility vehicles. The NTFRS also has trailers for Fire Investigation, Rapid Decontamination and a BA trailer for refilling SCBA Cylinders in the field.
Due to the relatively small size of the NTFRS, rather than having dedicated specialised sections, general firefighters are trained in various disciplines, including: HAZMAT, USAR, Road Crash Rescue, Paramedic, School Based Education, and Wildfire.
Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. With a population of 139,902 at the 2021 census, the city contains most of the sparsely populated Northern Territory's residents. It is the smallest, wettest, and most northerly of the Australian capital cities and serves as the Top End's regional centre.
Humpty Doo is a town in Australia's Northern Territory, situated just south of the Arnhem Highway, approximately 40 km from Darwin. At the 2016 census, Humpty Doo had a population of 4,313 people. Its local government area is Litchfield Municipality. The town is a popular stopping point for tourists travelling between Darwin and Kakadu National Park, and boasts many attractions of its own. The main industries are agriculture and tourism; however, most residents commute to Darwin or Palmerston for work, and many regard it as a dormitory town.
Palmerston is a planned satellite city of Darwin, the capital and largest city of Australia's Northern Territory. The city is situated approximately 20 kilometres from Darwin and 10 kilometres from Howard Springs and the surrounding rural areas. Palmerston had a population of 33,695 at the 2016 census, making it the second largest city in the Northern Territory.
The Northern Territory Police Force is the police body that has legal jurisdiction over the Northern Territory of Australia. This police service has 1,607 police members made up of 83 senior sergeants, 228 sergeants, 912 constables, 220 auxiliaries, and 64 Aboriginal Community Police Officers. The rest of the positions are members of commissioned rank and inoperative positions. It also has a civilian staff working across the NT Police, Fire and Emergency Services.
The NORFORCE is an infantry regiment of the Australian Army Reserve. Formed in 1981, the regiment is one of three Regional Force Surveillance Units (RFSUs) employed in surveillance and reconnaissance of the remote areas of Northern Australia. It consists of a regimental headquarters, four surveillance squadrons, and an operational support squadron and training squadron.
Crime in the Northern Territory is managed by the Northern Territory Police, the territory government's Department of the Attorney-General and Justice and Territory Families.
The North Australia Railway was a 509 km (316 mi) 1,067 mm narrow gauge railway in the Northern Territory of Australia which ran from the territory capital of Darwin, once known as Palmerston, to Birdum, just south of Larrimah. Initially its name was the Palmerston and Pine Creek Railway. The first section was opened 1889, the last in 1929. The railway closed in 1976.
The Litchfield Council is a local government area of the Northern Territory of Australia on the eastern and southeastern outskirts of the Darwin-Palmerston urban area. The municipality covers an area of 2,903 square kilometres (1,120.9 sq mi), and was created by the Northern Territory government on 6 September 1985.
Scouting and Guiding in the Northern Territory is predominantly represented by the branches of Scouts Australia and Girl Guides Australia covering the Northern Territory.
The Territory Response Group (TRG) is the police tactical group of the Northern Territory Police Force. The TRG is tasked to provide general and specialist support to other units of the Northern Territory Police Force (NTPF).
Many sports are played in the Northern Territory of Australia.
Rapid Creek refers to both a creek in the city of Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia and the name of a suburb north of the city, situated where the creek meets Darwin Harbour. It is the traditional country and waterways of the Larrakia people.
104.1 Territory FM is a community radio station based in Darwin, Australia. Territory FM broadcasts a broad range of adult contemporary music from the Casuarina campus of Charles Darwin University. News is provided by Nine News between 6:00am and 10:00pm. Territory FM also has a long-standing media agreement with the Nine Network, broadcasting Nine News Darwin bulletins every weeknight, as well as updates from their newsroom in the afternoons and weekend sport wraps.
Bees Creek is an outer rural area of Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia. It is 33 km southeast of the Darwin central business district. It is the council seat of the local government area of the Litchfield Municipality, although most council facilities, public amenities and the actual Municipal offices are in the neighbouring locality of Freds Pass. Bees Creek is mostly rural, with large residential blocks often not served by town sewers or sealed roads. Nevertheless, the area is popular with those wishing to enjoy a rural lifestyle within an easy commuting distance of the city.
Coolalinga is an outer suburban area in Darwin. It is 29 kilometres (18 mi) south east of central Darwin, 10 kilometres (6 mi) south east of Palmerston and 6 kilometres (4 mi) east of the proposed city of Weddell. Its Local Government Area is the Litchfield Municipality. The name was first used by Len Cant for his store and caravan park on the Stuart Highway. Since Coolalinga Store, the area has become an important commercial centre for the Shire.
Noonamah is an outer rural suburban area of Darwin. it is 45 km southeast of the Darwin CBD. Its Local Government Area is the Litchfield Municipality. The suburb is mostly a rural area, but has been experiencing strong growth in population and development. The Elizabeth River flows through Noonamah towards the East Arm of Darwin Harbour.
Darwinbus is the official operational name of the public bus network which operates within the Greater Darwin region, this includes the satellite cities Palmerston and Casuarina, in addition to the Darwin Rural Area in the Northern Territory. The network is exclusively operated by CDC Northern Territory under a six-year contract with the Northern Territory Government starting from 1 July 2022, and in the financial year prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, carried approximately 3.5 million passengers, equivalent to a 5-6% modeshare. Prior to July 2022, the network was operated by two contractors; CDC Northern Territory, and Territory Transit who had shared operation of the majority of urban bus services.
Darwin railway station is the terminus station of the Adelaide-Darwin rail corridor in the Darwin suburb of East Arm, Northern Territory. The station is 2975 km (1849 mi) from Adelaide Parklands Terminal station, 3.5 km (2.2 mi) from the end of the line and 18 km (11 mi) by road from Darwin's city centre. In front of the station building is a paved area 60 metres long, but sealed hardstanding extends for a kilometre to accommodate all carriages of the train on the single track. Since this area is not raised, small platforms with stairs are positioned for passengers.
Micket Creek is a locality in the Northern Territory of Australia located about 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) east of the territory capital of Darwin.
St John Ambulance Northern Territory is a non-profit, charitable organisation providing first aid services and training, urgent care, patient transport, ambulance and other medical services in the Northern Territory. It has served as the primary ambulance service in the Northern Territory since 1966. These services are provided through a combination of paid and volunteer staff. St John NT is funded through a combination of government funding, corporate and private donations and user pays services.