Fully Funded Fire Stations for Brigades, now and into the future
Friday, 9 Dec 2022
Moore Linville RFB is moving from its single bay shed, which is slowly settling down the gully, to a new fully funded fire station that will include four appliance bays as well as a training room and upgraded equipment facilities.
The announcement was made by Minister Mark Ryan in the shade of a gum tree on a very hot Wednesday when he visited the brigade.
The 31 brigade members of Moore Linville RFB have a primary response area of 312 sq km, mostly farmland and forested public land, however there are two villages in the area, Moore and Linville and due to the distance from the larger centres of Toogoolawah, Kilcoy and Blackbutt the brigade is often the first onsite for house fires, road accidents and an increasing number of push bike accidents on the Rail Trail.
The brigade has a secondary area of response across much of the upper Brisbane Valley. This is the area of Mt Stanley RFB to the north which is 564 sq km and the Harlin RFB brigade area to the south which is 304 sq km.
Linville fire shed currently houses the brigade's light attack unit and the ERT* is kept at a members home.
In the huge 2019/20 bushfire season the brigade volunteers responded to 100% of callouts.
Over the last 3 years through fires and floods the brigade has operated throughout the Brisbane Valley, Ipswich and sent a crew to assist in Canberra.
This new fully funded station with fit out is a great leap forward for the brigade and community and is being funded by the $10 million infrastructure injection. Other brigades across the state who are receiving the first of the these fully funded fire stations are Weipa, Ogmore, Millaroo Dalbeg, Mount Alford, Kunwarara and Rossville. Funding will also contribute to a new RFSQ headquarters in Maryborough which will include training rooms, storage and an incident control centre to future proof the emergency response in the region.
An additional $1 million of on going funding has been committed to the Rural Fire Service Amenities Program as part of the 2022-23 State Budget, as well as $500,000 in capital grants. New amenity buildings have already started with five brigades initially identified, including Fordsdale, Heronvale, Gowrie Little Plain (Meringandan), Gowrie Little Plain (Gowrie Junction) and Cooyar Town and District.
The fully funding of Rural Fire Brigade stations and also the improvement of existing Rural Fire sheds and stations is now ongoing with brigade input into design and local community needs and brigade involvement in sourcing local suppliers for the projects. This reflects that all brigades and their local communities are different and have differing current and future needs and will keep the cost of each station down as volunteers know how to get value for money from suppliers.
If you are a truck brigade without a fire station and your community would like one, or if you are a brigade with a shed that has no floor, doors, water or toilets, then please contact your local RFSQ Inspector to discuss how the government can assist your brigade and community.
*ERT - Emergency Response Trike.