A woman in her 30s looks to her left. She is wearing a top with black dust and soot on it.Terip Terip Country Fire Authority captain Shannon Roach. (ABC News: Daniella Bonica)

Thousands of dollars’ worth of firefighting equipment and fuel have been stolen on Easter weekend from firefighters who battled the Longwood blaze in January.

Terip Terip Country Fire Authority (CFA) captain Shannon Roach said she arrived at the shed, located about 15 kilometres north-west of Yarck, on Sunday morning to find its side door ajar.

Image of a white shed's door slightly ajar.

The Terip Terip CFA station door was found ajar following a break-in over the Easter long weekend. (Supplied: CFA)

“I walked inside, had a look around and noticed that quite a lot of our equipment had been stolen,” Ms Roach said.

“It was just absolutely heartbreaking, as you can imagine, particularly after everything we’ve been through with the Longwood bushfire.”

Firefighters in t-shirts, long pants and helmets stand beside a road near a red fire truck among blackened trees.

CFA crews clearing roads at Terip Terip in January this year, after the Longwood bushfire burnt through the district. (ABC News: Danielle Bonica)

She said thieves made off with about $8,000 worth of equipment, including water pumps, UHF radios, chainsaws and 40 litres of petrol.

A water pump sits inside a rural fire station shed.

One of two water pumps stolen from the Terip Terip CFA station over the Easter long weekend. (Supplied: CFA)

Ms Roach said they also stole a crucial piece of the station’s equipment: a Starlink Mini.

“Unfortunately this means we now have no comms at all at the station,” she said.

Ms Roach believes the thieves managed to gain access to the shed through a sliding glass window.

The Easter theft has hit the crew particularly hard, coming barely three months after they risked their lives battling the Longwood fire and Ms Roach said they were “absolutely gutted”.

“Initially we were really angry and very frustrated — how dare someone come into our shed and take what is ours, what belongs to the community. And then it just turned into this real sadness of almost re-living that loss again of everything we’ve just been through.”

A small group of firefighters gathered in a bush setting. The sky is yellow with smoke haze.

The Terip Terip CFA crew on the ground during the Longwood fire in January. (Supplied: Harry Irvine (CFA))

While the incident will not stop the crew from responding to emergencies, Ms Roach said losing three chainsaws would impact the crew’s ability to respond to storms.

“That’s going to put us slightly out of action,” she said.

The rest of the equipment was mostly used for firefighting — something she doesn’t anticipate there will be much of heading into the cooler part of the year.

“Hopefully we don’t have any significant house fires. Fingers crossed we’ll see a small impact there.”

Blackened trees standing on scorched ground with smoke still hanging in the air behind.

Burnt trees at Terip Terip after the Longwood fire tore through in January 2026. (ABC News: Danielle Bonica)

Police are now investigating the incident and believe thieves entered the building on Springs Road sometime between 7pm on Friday (April 3) and 9am on Sunday (April 5).

Anyone with information, including dash-cam or CCTV footage, or who may have witnessed suspicious activity in the area is urged to contact Crime Stoppers.

A rural firefighting shed stands in the Australian bush.

Police are investigating after thousands of dollars’ worth of equipment and fuel were stolen from the Terip Terip CFA station over the Easter long weekend. (Supplied: CFA)