Queensland Fire and Emergency Services
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| Abbreviation | QFES |
|---|---|
| Motto | Many services, many capabilities, many partners. |
| Formation | 1860 |
| Legal status | Active |
| Purpose | Combatant authority for fire, rescue and hazmat |
| Headquarters | Kedron, Queensland, Australia |
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Region
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Membership
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Minister for Police, Fire and Emergency Services
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Bill Byrne, MP |
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Commissioner of QFES
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Commissioner Katarina Carroll, APM |
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Operations and Emergency Management
|
Deputy Commissioner Mark Roche, AFSM |
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Emergency Service Volunteers
|
Deputy Commissioner Mike Wassing |
| Subsidiaries |
Queensland State Emergency Service (QSES) Rural Fire Service Queensland (RFSQ) |
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Staff
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2,100 (full-time) 2,100 (Casual) |
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Volunteers
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37,000 |
| Website | qfes |
The Queensland Fire and Emergency Services (QFES) is the primary provider of fire and emergency services in Queensland. The QFES was established in 2013 to improve the coordination and planning of emergency services, adopting an 'all hazards' approach to emergency management.
QFES headquarters are located in the Emergency Services Complex Kedron, Brisbane.
It was formerly known as the Queensland Fire and Rescue Service (QFRS) 2001–2013, Queensland Fire and Rescue Authority 1997–2001 and Queensland Fire Service 1990–1997.
The QFES is maintained by a mix of over 2,200 Professional firefighters and more than 2000 Auxiliary Firefighters (on call) firefighters, 35,000 (6000 active)Rural bushfire brigade volunteers and 6000 State Emergency Service volunteers. QFES front-line operations is supported by a number of non-operational administration staff throughout the state.
The minister responsible for the Queensland Fire and Emergency Services is the Honourable Bill Byrne, Minister for the Police, Fire and Emergency Services portfolio.
QFES is led by Commissioner Katarina Carroll APM.
The QFES is the result of 150 years of evolution in Queensland’s firefighting services; in fact the QFES was born from Australia’s oldest formal volunteer fire service, formed in 1860 after a fire destroyed a Brisbane cabinet making workshop. The early years were tough for the Brisbane Volunteer Fire Brigade and it wasn’t until 1889 that the first firemen was employed.
The first legislation for rural fire management was the Act to Prevent the Careless Use of Fire 1865, and for urban fire management, the Fire Brigades Act 1876. In 1990, the Queensland Fire Service and the Rural Fires Council were formed replacing the 81 Fire Boards in local government areas and the Rural Fires Board; this was the first step in creating a single fire service for Queensland.
In 1997, it became the Queensland Fire and Rescue Authority and 2001 saw another name change to the current Queensland Fire and Rescue Service.
In 2013, QFRS became the Queensland Fire and Emergency Services, encompassing Queensland Fire and Rescue, Queensland State Emergency Service, Emergency Management and the Rural Fire brigades under the Rural Fire Service.
The QFES Professional Firefighters ensure a balance between the reduction of risk and enhancement of community resilience, whilst providing effective response and recovery capabilities in the primary hazard response areas of: fire and explosion; accident; rescue; environmental and imminent or declared disaster.
The Queensland Fire and Emergency Services provides specialist personnel with the skills and ability to provide combat support services for: land, marine, air and urban search and rescue; crime scene and forensic searches; missing person searches; animal disease outbreaks and communications.
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Wikipedia