Council Question Fire Station Placement

The $7 million replacement fire and rescue station set for construction in Airlie Beach raised alarm bells for local councillors this week.

The proposed location in a low-density residential area on the corner of Shute Harbour Road and Macarthur Drive in Cannonvale raised eyebrows for locals when it was announced in July, and the site is now set for a noise and light impact assessment, but not one that will impact its approval by the State Government.

In Whitsunday Regional Council’s Ordinary Meeting on Wednesday, Councillors discussed sending a submission to Queensland’s Deputy Premier, Steven Miles, seeking that the approval for the development be deferred until the assessment results were considered.

Whitsunday Regional Council Director Planning and Development Neil McGaffin explained that the original site was chosen by Queensland Fire and Emergency Services (QFES) because it met the bodies’ strict criteria.

“QFES need to consider the time it takes to leave the station to get where the fire is – that needs to be 16 or 17 minutes, and they can’t achieve that by leaving the [current station] in Jubilee Pocket,” he said.

Other sites had been suggested to QFES further from residential areas, according to Mr McGaffin, but they unfortunately did not meet the parameters.

Councillor Jan Clifford said the proposed location was “highly inappropriate place for a fire station.”

“My concerns are for Airlie Beach, Jubilee Pocket, Shute Harbour if they’ve got a time frame of 14 and a half minutes,” she said.

“The road is frequently blocked between Airlie Beach and Jubilee Pocket, only for a few minutes, but that can be the difference between life and death.”

Councillor Al Grundy suggested that QFES could keep the current station as an auxiliary, which would change the proposed stations requirement criteria, meaning it would no longer be needed to be built at the Shute Harbour and Macarthur Drive location.

“If it was deemed an auxiliary was required to service that area, it would change the impact requirement on this location and allow it to be moved closer to the Gregory Cannon Valley area or the edge of town,” he said.

“When people moved into this medium-low density area, they weren’t expecting a fire station to be built across the road.”

Councillor Michelle Wright was one of the few dissenting voices amongst the Councillors, speaking to the positioning of Bowen and Collinsville’s Fire Stations – both in residential areas.

“This is an essential service. We are putting it there to help the people, and I just don’t understand how some people think,” she said.

“To me, this is saving lives, it’s saving families, it’s saving properties. It’s selfish, I believe.”

Council voted in favour of sending the submission to the Deputy Premier and are now awaiting response.

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