HELP ARRIVES FOR EMBATTLED AFTER-HOURS FIRE CREW

Ayr Fire and Rescue Station will have a paid firefighter stationed around the clock for the first time in 29 years. Photo: Jacob Casha

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Ayr Fire and Rescue Station will have a paid firefighter stationed around the clock for the first time in 29 years after a series of “dangerous” delays in after-hours callouts across the Burdekin.

The 12-month arrangement, effective since 26th October, will see a station officer provide overnight supervision, supported by two additional full-time firefighters on-call to supplement the dwindling auxiliary crew.

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Queensland Professional Firefighters Union (QPFU) officials say the arrangement will provide temporary reprieve for the region’s auxiliaries, more than halving after-hours response times as the Queensland Fire Department (QFD) steps up its recruitment drive in the region.

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QPFU Townsville Country Branch Secretary Peter Marten welcomed the arrangement, revealing the proposal, along with other alternatives, was initially knocked back by the QFD before Minister for Fire, Disaster Recovery and Volunteers Ann Leahy pushed for it.

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“This gives the commissioner his chance to see if auxiliary recruitment will work in Ayr over the next 12 months,” Mr Marten said.

“At the end of that 12 months, we’ll be asking for an honest sit down to go, ‘Where are we? If this [arrangement] was to stop tomorrow, what is going to be the outcome? Can the auxiliary model work here?’”

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The station had previously operated under a composite staffing model for over 20 years, with full-time firefighters on duty from 5am to 5pm and auxiliary firefighters covering the region overnight, with full-time firefighters on call.

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However, after the QFD declined to endorse a permanent 24/7 station in Ayr in August, full-time firefighters stopped providing after-hours coverage at the station, leaving a team of seven auxiliaries solely responsible for overnight responses.

The following two months saw a series of delayed callouts, including an August incident where firefighters took 25 minutes to reach a property about 600 metres from the Ayr station after waiting for a qualified auxiliary officer to arrive from Home Hill.

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A month later, an alarm at Ayr's Coles supermarket went unanswered for more than an hour before a Townsville crew attended, and a river rescue initially saw a lone auxiliary firefighter respond to a woman trapped in a vehicle. She managed to free herself before response arrived.

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Auxiliary availability remained inconsistent across the period, with firefighters brought in from Proserpine and accommodated in local motels over several weekends to help maintain overnight coverage in the Burdekin.

A QFD spokesperson said recruiting Auxiliary Firefighters in the Burdekin remains a “priority” for the Department.

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“Over the past 18 months, QFD has stepped up recruitment efforts across the region, including printed mail to community members and engagement with local industries. This has resulted in new applications, which are now being progressed,” the spokesperson said.

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“QFD has also recently delivered the biggest increase to Auxiliary Firefighter remuneration since 2016, making the job more attractive to prospective recruits.”

According to Mr Marten, auxiliary pay will increase from $25 per hour to $27.

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He said the success of the drive will ultimately hinge on retention rather than recruitment, pointing to previous efforts that “came and went.”

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“They're definitely making an effort that we haven't seen before, and so it might just be successful,” Mr Marten said.

“They should get names signed up. That's nothing to to be surprised about. What will be the killer is how many of them are still here in 12 months.”