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Fire - Pacific Highway, Hornsby
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DescriptionOn 5 January 1971 just before 5pm, a fully laden Golden Fleece petrol tanker overturned right in front of Hornsby Fire Station. Flaming fuel quickly spread to the station setting it on fire. The petrol tanker driver was pulled clear of the wreckage unharmed. The firefighter on watchroom duty at the front of the station bounded out a side door only seconds before fire engulfed his office. Those in living quarters above the station barely managed to get out in time. Blazing fuel from the accident also flowed down the main street setting fire to several shops and a service station which resulted in a petrol bowser exploding. Hornsby firefighters scrambled to safety and immediately got to work before they were joined by crews from Gordon and five other stations. It took an hour to get the fire under control. The fire engine – a Dennis Jaguar – was destroyed but the water tanker was saved. The station was also destroyed - the first time the then NSW Fire Brigades, now Fire & Rescue NSW, lost a fire station. It wasn't rebuilt, a new station was opened in Bridge St, Hornsby.
The fire station was located near to the junction of Pretoria Parade in Hornsby
Date5th January 1971LocationHornsbySubjectFireKeywordsPacific HighwayHornsby
The fire station was located near to the junction of Pretoria Parade in Hornsby
Date5th January 1971LocationHornsbySubjectFireKeywordsPacific HighwayHornsbyRelated
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Fire - Pacific Highway, Hornsby (5th January 1971). Hornsby Shire, accessed 18/10/2026, https://hornsbyshire.recollect.net.au/nodes/view/2439