From pulling down houses to creating firebreaks to modern day firefighting operations, the Urban Wangaratta Fire Brigade has seen a century and a half of evolution.

This May, they are celebrating their 150th anniversary, marking the milestone exactly a century and a half to the day since 19 people met at the Council Club Hotel (now known as the Grand Central Hotel) to form the Wangaratta brigade on 16 May, 1876.

Current chair of the Urban Wangaratta Fire Brigade Warren Brown said the formation of the brigade came as the community developed reticulated water in town, changing the strategy of fighting fires forever.

“What happened was the bell went off at the station, they grabbed the cart which had the hose and branches and ran to the job,” he said.

“If you had any breath left when you got there, they would fight the fire.

“If your house was burning, they either pulled down your house or the two neighbouring houses to stop it spreading, that was how they fought the fire.

“When they got reticulated water, they could do more, which prompted the change to forming a brigade.”

Despite all the evolutions, changes and amalgamation of services over the years, Mr Brown said one thing has always been the same over the last 150 years with the brigade.

“We have people who have come from all walks of life, but we share that common goal to turn up and support the community,” he said.

The brigade was a fully volunteered brigade until 1963 when paid staff entered the CFA brigade, to be later known as Fire Rescue Victoria.

Former chair of the brigade Tom Philip has been with the Wangaratta emergency service for more than 60 years.

Many of his former teammates in the 1982 CFA state championship winning running team will be present at the anniversary dinner.

“I haven’t seen a lot of them since they left the brigade years ago, it’ll be good,” Mr Philip said.

Brigade community safety officer Lauren McCully encouraged all members of the community to join the current crew of about 80 active members in celebrating the significant milestone.

“There’s quite a lot of people out there who are with the brigade and linked to the brigade who do some amazing things,” she said.

The gala anniversary dinner will be held at the Wangaratta Racecourse from 6pm on Saturday, 16 May, with the brigade’s annual service awards to also be held on the night.

Tickets can be purchased via the link: https://events.humanitix.com/wangaratta-fire-brigade-150th-birthday-dinner

There is also an option to donate a chosen additional amount towards the brigade.