Fire Season is well and truly on us in Western Australia, with big bush blazes already in November and now summer even hotter. (And as I write this there are awful fires across the world in California.)

In the heart of Perth lies Kings Park, an area of mostly bush land even larger than Central Park in New York, sitting on a bluff above the winding Swan River.

The Firefighters Memorial in Kings Park was created in 2014. It is a relatively plain affair in which a huge flame-shaped stone stands against a background of the very kind of bush that can turn into a raging blaze sweeping across thousands of hectares.

 The first firefighter to die during service in Perth was North Perth Station volunteer Mr Frederick Maller. He was crushed by a falling wall in 1908.

Since then, 93 others have perished fighting house and bushfires. Their names are on the plaques that sweep behind the memorial over which stands a statue of two exhausted firefighters.

Here is some of the article written in the West Australian newspaper on 30th of January 1908 about Mr Maller’s death:

Shocking Accident at a North Perth Fire.

‘A fire at which Frederick Thomas Maller, the captain of the North Perth Fire Brigade, received fatal injuries occurred in the early hours of yesterday morning at Mr Geo Redmond’s grocery shop … The alarm was given shortly after 2am and the North Perth Brigade under Captain Maller were on the scene a few minutes later.
By this time the fire had gained a good hold of the building and was burning fiercely. Captain Maller recognized that prompt action was necessary and finding that there was a good pressure of water he took charge of one of the hoses and rushed up to the front of the building which consisted of one storey and was built of brick. Constable Strapp of North Perth who was only a few yards away had noticed that there were no girders in the building, and he shouted to Captain Maller and other members of the brigade who he thought were venturing to close to move away. He had just uttered this warning when a horrible accident occurred.
The parapet wall of the building collapsed and thundering down to the pavement the debris overwhelming Captain Maller while Constable Strapp and some of the firemen had narrow escapes. Maller made an attempt to rise but a further fall of bricks together with portions of the verandah occurred and he was almost buried. Constable Strapp and the members of the brigade quickly extracted the unfortunate man and found that he was seriously injured and unconscious. First aid was rendered on the scene, but it was recognised at this time that there was little chance of his recovery. His chest was crushed, his legs broken and there were several ugly wounds about his head. He was removed in the Perth Fire Brigade ambulance to the Perth Public Hospital where he succumbed almost three hours after having sustained his injuries.’

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