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Personnel record books 1884-1955 (NRS 510) detail the career of each fire fighter and include personal information such as date of birth, marital status, number of children and height. Professional information such as previous occupation, promotions, examinations, transfers and awards are also included. Each career covers a page of information and gives a history of the movement, promotions and changes to pay grading of each fire fighter. The entries are arranged chronologically by date of appointment.
A variety of registers provide summary information and may include personal details and the fire station that fire fighters are attached to. Fire record books will register fire events that fire brigade staff attend and may mention individual fire fighters who visited an event.
To investigate the death of a fire fighter on duty you can use the In-orders series which mentions transfer appointments and notices of death for fire fighters. Deaths between 1886-1963 are also identified in the list of permanent officers and men killed at fires.
Fire fighters who retired from service between 1927-1975 may be recorded in the Retirement file. The retirement file records physical fitness, superannuation policy and date of birth. The Volunteer Long Service Medal and Bar register, 1910-67, records medals received by volunteer fire fighters for 15 years and thirty years service and will record the station of the fire fighter.
Examination papers, syllabi, and correspondence relating to examinations at all promotional levels are contained in a variety of series. Records that are more than 50 years old are open to public access (AD169).
This content first appeared in Now&Then 26 June 2007.
