General News
6 November, 2023
Local firefighters lend a hand to Queensland
As fires continue to burn across Queensland, firefighters from local brigades left for the state over the weekend to provide much needed support to the region. Part of a larger Victorian CFA response, five firefighters — David Charlesworth from...
As fires continue to burn across Queensland, firefighters from local brigades left for the state over the weekend to provide much needed support to the region.
Part of a larger Victorian CFA response, five firefighters — David Charlesworth from the Carisbrook brigade, Charles Newman and Brad Ohlson from the Maryborough unit, Riley Upton from the Wareek Bung Bong brigade and Karina Colquhoun from the Dunolly contingent — were deployed to Toowoomba, in southern Queensland on Saturday to aid the state’s Fire and Emergency Services.
The group of five will join around 200 other volunteers and staff from Victoria, including strike teams (trucks and crew), incident management teams, air supervisors and officers — and according to CFA Goldfields Group Officer Peter Higgins, there’s a possibility that additional firefighters could be dispatched.
“We’ve [sent] a crew and at the minute there could be some more rotations going to Queensland — I’m really proud of all of them and they’re doing this on a voluntary basis too,” he said.
“Our people are going into this and my biggest worry is sending firefighters into unfamiliar surroundings.
“The important thing is, today we’re helping Queensland and one day we may need their support and when [this request for deployment] came out I had an unbelievable response with 16 people putting their hand up.”
A call-out for support came from CFA District 2 following which Mr Higgins gave the headquarters all 16 names and finally five were selected based on the requirements at the time — with the crew expected to return from Queensland tomorrow.
As of Monday, November 6, it is estimated that more than 50 bushfires are continuing to blaze in the state — but showers over the weekend on November 4 and 5, could provide some respite.