James O'Brien, Captain at the Kangaroo Flat Fire Brigade, tells of an 1873 murder.
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Gathered at a pub, Mr O'Brien said a few community minded residents had an idea.
"They came together and decided 'hey, we need to do something about getting some police presence and while we're at it, let's get a fire brigade too'."
While that makes the fire brigade sound like an afterthought, it has stood the test of time - with Kangaroo Flat Fire Brigade celebrating 150-years of service to the community in 2023.
Operating on a fully volunteer basis since 1873, Kangaroo Flat is one in only around 16 brigades to reach the 150-year milestone.
For Mr O'Brien, the significance of the occasion goes beyond the years of fighting fires, and reflects the unwavering presence brigade volunteers have in the community.
"We have elderly residents who rely on us to change their smoke detector batteries," he said.
"So we are a very important part of that community in that way too."
True to its community spirit, Kangaroo Flat Fire Brigade are inviting residents to celebrate with them to mark the occasion.
On Sunday, August 6, the brigade will be holding their Community Open Day at the station, kicking off with a procession of local brigades marching from Dower Park to the Kangaroo Flat's Helm Street base to salute volunteers past and present.
From there, visitors will be able to go on station tours - including the newly opened memorabilia room, enjoy a free sausage sizzle and jumping castle, see historic vintage fire trucks and emergency services displays, and much more.
Other celebrations over the weekend include a current and past members get-together, as well as an official awards evening with Chief Officer of CFA Jason Heffernan in attendance, among other dignitaries.
While its unknown whether those first members in the pub would have thought Kangaroo Flat Fire Brigade would ever reach 150-years, Mr O'Brien said he knows one thing for sure.
"Ever since then we've been meeting the needs of the community, not only from an emergency response perspective, but from a community perspective too."
The Dower Park to Helm Street procession begins at 10.30am on Sunday, August 6 with the Kangaroo Flat Fire Brigade open-day to follow until 2pm. All are invited.
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