Country Fire Authority
 
Official Logo of the Country Fire Authority (top) Official seal and emblem of the Country Fire Authority (bottom)
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| Established | 1945 |
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Region served
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CFA has a State headquarters and 5 regions across Victoria. Within these regions are 21 CFA districts. |
| Services | Combatant authority for fire, rescue and hazmat |
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Staff
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1,086 career firefighters, 967 support staff and 35,796 volunteers |
| Website | www.cfa.vic.gov.au |
Country Fire Authority, or CFA, is a fire service in Victoria, Australia, with other fire services being Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) and the Metropolitan Fire Brigade (MFB). The CFA provides firefighting and emergency services to rural areas and regional townships of Victoria, and to portions of the outer suburban areas of Melbourne not covered by the MFB. Australian emergency services, including CFA, can be summoned to assist by dialling the primary emergency service telephone number, 000. Mobile phones also allow a default emergency number, 112, to be dialled.
CFA has 35,595 volunteer firefighters (and 18,935 non-operational volunteer members) from Victorian rural and urban community areas. These CFA volunteers support over 1,000 professional firefighters. CFA works closely with the other emergency services, such as the MFB, the State Emergency Service, Victoria Police and Ambulance Victoria.
CFA falls under the portfolio of the Minister for Emergency Services, The Honourable James Merlino, who took on this role on 10 June 2016. In 2016, Frances Diver was appointed Chief Executive Officer of CFA, commencing her role on 27 June 2016. While this position was initially temporary, Ms Diver was reaffirmed as the ongoing CEO after six months in the role. CFA's current Chief Officer is Steve Warrington, promoted from his previous position as Deputy Chief Officer.
The CFA was created on 2 April 1945 following significant bushfires during the period 1939-1944 which killed 114 people, destroyed nearly 1400 homes and damaged large areas of the state. Significant numbers of livestock also perished. Subsequent investigations showed a lack of cohesive firefighting ability outside the central metropolitan area. The CFA took over existing brigades, many of which had been established in the 19th or early 20th century.
The CFA operates under the Country Fire Authority Act of 1958, as amended, and its Regulations.
Since July 2013, fire services in Victoria have been funded by a fire service property levy on council rates. The CFA budgeted income for 2013–14 was $473m—$448m was provided by state government contributions, and $25m was internally generated (fees and charges, interest, donations, and sales of goods and services).
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