60th Anniversary of Rural Fire Service sees new Mount Isa Brigade formed

Celebrations for the 60^th anniversary of the Rural Fire Service will be a little bit sweeter in the State’s North West this month.

2008 will also mark the formation of a rural fire brigade in Mount Isa.

State Member for Mount Isa, Betty Kiernan said the Queensland Fire and Rescue Service (QFRS) rural fire recruitment kit was launched in November last year, to provide individual brigades with the resources they require to run their own recruitment campaigns.

“The entire membership of the Mt Isa Rural Fire Brigade was recruited using the various campaigns available within the kit.

“This brigade became fully operational in July and currently has 20 members, 6 of those are Officers, 11 are firefighters and a further 3 are support members.

“It’s comforting for the people of Mount Isa to know they have a Rural Fire Service, ready to help out in times of need,” she said.

The recruitment campaign was coordinated by Rural Operations staff based in Charters Towers and Cloncurry, and was fully supported by the local TV, radio and print media, with a stall established at the Mt Isa Central Shopping Centre.

State Member for GlassHouse, Carolyn Male said the first rural fire brigade in Queensland was the GlassHouse Mountains brigade, formed in December 1948.

“Back then volunteers were using fire beaters and heavy metal knapsacks to fight fires – they’ve come lights years since then,” she said.

Emergency Services Minister, Neil Roberts congratulated the service on 60 years of hard work.

“Today there are some 34,600 volunteers in over 1,50o brigades with a budget of $28.2 million,” Minister Roberts said.

“The Government’s 2006 Enhancement package saw the largest increase of staff numbers, culminating with the appointment of 20 brigade and training officers,” he said.

“In the past five years the number rural fire vehicles has increased from 876 to 941; and the number of slip-on units has also increased from 1,130 in 2003 to 2,093 this year.

“The record budgets and major equipment advanced for the Rural Fire Service have been historic.

The Service today continues to depend on the dedication and expertise of volunteer rural firefighters and I am determined they will get the equipment they need to do their vital work”, he said.

Contact – Amanda Hart, 0400 708 526.