History

Somerset is a small town located on the North west Coast of Tasmania. The history of Somerset goes back to 1854 when the first record of a land sale was recorded. According to the book “Somerset the Cam” by A.C. (Fuzzy) Hearn, the name Somerset was named after Lord Fitzroy Somerset. The streets of the town are named after mostly English Generals and Earls. Somerset in the early days was a busy town with the Cam River providing a natural port for shipping. In fact there were as many as six wharf’s in the Cam River in its heyday. Today you would hardly believe this, the only remaining evidence of this is the timber remains of a wharf on the eastern shore. In 1862 the first bridge over the Cam River was built linking East with West. The first police station was opened in 1871.

So with the first record of a fire brigade in 1949, there is nearly 100 years between settlement and forming of the fire brigade.Somerset Fire Brigade was first established in December 1949 when it was original part of the Wynyard Fire Brigade Board, in 1979 it was amalgamated into the Tasmanian Fire Service.

The brigade is located in the township of Somerset which is on the North West Coast of Tasmania situated approx. 7 km west of the city of Burnie.

The brigade amalgamated with the Elliott Fire Brigade which covers mainly farm land.

The brigade is manned completely by retained volunteers (20 members).

 

Honour boards