25 years on watch
Deputy Chief Officer Paul Seager (right) with Louise Ewins in the Mount Lofty Fire Tower during the 1984–85 fire season, when the tower was crewed by National Parks and Wildlife Service staff.
CFS 50 YEARS | 1976–2026
This story is part of our CFS 50th anniversary series, looking back at the people, places and moments that have shaped CFS over the past 50 years.
For more than 25 of CFS’ 50 years, the Mount Lofty Fire Tower Brigade has watched over the Adelaide Hills during the Mount Lofty Ranges Fire Danger Season.
Throughout the season, the brigade’s volunteers climb the tower’s staircase and, with binoculars and maps, scan the horizon for the first hint of smoke.
Officially formed in 2000, the Mount Lofty Fire Tower Brigade is one of CFS’ most unique brigades – and it’s not for the faint-hearted either.
Brigade Captain Willi Cabot said recruits need to be comfortable climbing the tower’s staircase and working at heights, especially as the structure flexes in strong winds.
“Volunteering is very different with the Mt Lofty Tower Brigade, we don’t roll out fire hoses for our practice sessions, which are conducted in the tower, and we don’t roll out of bed at three in the morning. But our work is still challenging in that it takes a lot of concentration as you are constantly scanning your surroundings. We do have a lot of fun, though, and we’d welcome new volunteers should people be looking to support the CFS in a different way.”
But the history of keeping watch from Mount Lofty goes back even further.
Kevin Jordan (right) and Paul Seager (left) keep watch from the Mount Lofty Fire Tower while having Christmas lunch, 25 December 1984.
Deputy Chief Officer Paul Seager worked in the tower during the 1984–85 fire season, when it was crewed by National Parks and Wildlife Service staff.
Fresh out of university, Paul spent about six months working there with fellow university students Kevin Jordan and Louise (Lou) Ewins.
“That was my introduction to fire management, so I regard those days really, really fondly,” Paul said.
Two people crewed the tower during daylight hours, constantly scanning the horizon for smoke.
“We were literally on watch all the time. Typically, one would be looking out one direction and one the other, and we’d move around,” Paul said.
“There’s a great map table in the middle of the room and a sighting device that would allow you to get the bearing of a smoke sighting, and then we would estimate the distance.”
Smoke sightings were reported over VHF radio to ‘Oscar Charlie’, the CFS call sign at the time.
“My recollection is that I think we had around 320 or 330 smoke sightings for the year. That’s probably two a day on average, which doesn’t sound like a lot, but on the high fire danger days it was well into double figures.”
Paul also remembers a sign on the tower door that answered three questions visitors apparently asked often.
“Yes, it is a great view. Yes, the tower does move in the wind, and no, we don’t get bored.”
More than 40 years after Paul first kept watch from Mount Lofty, CFS volunteers are still climbing the tower and scanning the Adelaide Hills for the first signs of smoke.
A lot has changed in that time, but the view and the job remain much the same – spotting smoke early and helping get crews on the road sooner.
Tower facts
- Located within Cleland National Park
- Built and opened around 1981
- Significantly damaged during the 1983 Ash Wednesday bushfires
- CFS took control of the tower in 1987
- 156 steps
- 34 metres high
- Crewed for four-hour shifts during the Fire Danger Season and on Total Fire Ban days outside the season
- Each shift has two to three volunteers
- On a clear day, the view can reach as far as Kangaroo Island