QFES preparations on-track ahead of Commonwealth Games

Queensland Fire and Emergency Services (QFES) is ramping up preparations ahead of the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games (GC2018) to ensure the agency is ready to respond to any emergency.

Fire and Emergency Services Minister Craig Crawford said today (Thursday) the $11 million QFES Commonwealth Games program will include the deployment of about 850 personnel.

He said QFES will provide personnel for command positions, firefighting crews, scientific and specialist urban search and rescue officers, support staff and volunteers during the Games in April.

“The Palaszczuk Government is committed to providing Queenslanders and visitors with a memorable GC2018 experience,” Mr Crawford said.

“A substantial part of this is ensuring public safety and that is why the Palaszczuk Government has helped facilitate investment in the QFES GC2018 program to ensure personnel have the capability to respond to emergencies that may arise.

“These include incidents such as fire, natural hazards, disaster response, hazardous materials, support for counter terrorism activities and support to local government disaster management groups.”

Member for Gaven Meaghan Scanlon said the QFES response will include deployment of about 400 paid QFES employees and approximately 450 volunteers, undertaking a total of approximately 3500 shifts.

“This is part of a three-year program that has involved the establishment of a dedicated QFES Commonwealth Games Office (CGO) that employees 19 full-time staff,” Ms Scanlon said.

“These staff work closely with all Games partners to ensure a collaborated approach to emergency planning at GC2018.”

QFES Acting Commissioner Mark Roche said personnel had entered the final phase of preparations and would now be actively involved in multi-agency and cross-partner GC2018 exercises leading up to the Games.

“This phase involves exercises and training to test QFES capability and processes ahead of the event, which will be held at venues across the Gold Coast and event cities Brisbane, Cairns and Townsville,” Mr Roche said.

“These exercises involve specialist crews and personnel working alongside other government agencies to ensure best-practice response.

“Another part of our preparation is to ensure all competition venues and other important sites and precincts achieve building fire safety compliance, which ensures the safety of the general public and athletes attending the Games.

“We have been collaborating with Fire and Rescue Service New South Wales (FRNSW), New South Wales State Emergency Service (NSW SES) and New South Wales Rural Fire Service (NSW RFS) to strengthen cross-border arrangements and put support agreements in place for the Games."

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