Its status as the second-oldest brigade in New Zealand still manned by volunteers will be celebrated this weekend when past and present firefighters, brigade staff and their families converge on the resort for the brigade's 150th anniversary.
Chief Fire Officer Bob Robertson has been in the brigade for a third of its existence.
He can recall a time when there were 15 volunteers, all men, and vehicle accidents were not a job for the fire brigade.
''We never went to car accidents in the early days. It wasn't part of the work we did.''
The first motor vehicle accident the brigade attended was a tractor accident in 1958, in which a Queenstown man was killed when the tractor he was driving tipped over.
''We gradually grew into them [vehicle accidents]. I think it was probably something that was thrust upon us. I can remember the first lot of cutting gear we got ... probably 35-40 years ago.''
In the ''early days'' the brigade probably attended more firefighting events such as scrub fires, Mr Robertson said.
Brigade secretary Katherine Lamont said now the volunteers ''turn out to whatever is going''.
''Even the odd medical call if St John are going to be delayed,'' Mrs Lamont said.
A comprehensive book, written by Jenny McLeod, details major fires in the brigade's and Queenstown's history.
There have been multiple occasions when central Queenstown has been ablaze; from a major fire in Ballarat St in 1882 started by Prussian grocer Philip Waldemann, whose plan was to
set fire to his shop before leaving town in the failed hope of avoiding detection and claiming insurance on the loss, to the more recent Fat Badgers Pizza and World Bar fire in Shotover St in May involving a commercial cooking vat.
The Queenstown brigade's first female firefighter was Vicki Paddon, who joined in 1989.
Now, the brigade boasts seven women.
About 240 people are expected to attend the 150th anniversary, which will consist of an informal get-together on Friday night and a formal dinner and annual award ceremony on Saturday night.
