Emergency services in regional Queensland will be boosted with two infrastructure projects announced this week.
In Mt Isa, in the state’s north-west, the first sod was turned on a $31.8 million joint facility at the city’s airport, which will house LifeFlight and the Royal Flying Doctor service.
More than 1500km away on the southern coast of the State, the Queensland Government announced a site had been found and planning was underway for a new Rural Fire Service Queensland (RFSQ) facility in Maryborough.
Assistant Minister for State Development Julieanne Gilbert said the new base in Mount Isa would provide the city and north-west Queensland with a vital aeromedical hub and allow both LifeFlight and the Royal Flying Doctor Service to operate cohesively from the same location.
Minister Gilbert said it would mean improved patient care and response capabilities for both services.
RFDS (Queensland Section) CEO Meredith Staib said the new base was expected to be completed by mid-next year and would provide a significant improvement for both patients and staff.
“It will have a dedicated ambulance bay, patient transfer facilities and administration space, meaning our Mount Isa team will finally be housed under the same roof,” Ms Staib said.
“With three hangars for RFDS planes and dedicated engineering space, we think this new facility will provide a significant improvement in patient care across the growing north-western region.”
State Minister for Fire and Disaster Recovery Nikki Boyd said a new dedicated Rural Fire Service Queensland (RFSQ) facility would be built in Oakhurst, west of Maryborough.
Minister Boyd said the site would initially house multiple local RFS brigades, stationing them at a location where they could safely assist the community during severe weather events.
She said in the future, the facility may grow to include a training room, meeting rooms, incident control centre and deployment facilities.
“The proposed site is part of the former Maryborough TAFE facility and the Queensland Fire Department is currently working with the Department of Employment, Small Business and Training to negotiate an inter-agency transfer that includes relevant Government approval processes.
“Once the acquisition has been completed, QFD will then initiate the necessary processes to support the detailed design and construction of the facility.”
