Childers fire station fixed after Stephen Bennett questions Nikki Boyd

A rural firefighter believes despite raising a number of station concerns through the right channels over the past two years, it took talking to a local MP to get anything done about it.

Colin Santacaterina said the Childers Fire Station has been battling a range of maintenance concerns for almost two years. photo Paul Beutel

Despite almost two years spent raising concerns at a Childers Fire Station, a volunteer with more than two decades of fire fighting experience under his belt said he believes it took going to LNP Burnett MP Stephen Bennett to get action.

Colin ‘Curl’ Santacaterina has been an urban and volunteer firefighter for Childers and Bundaberg since the 1980s, but said years of frustration around station maintenance has left him disheartened at the attitude towards rural fireys.

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Mr Santacaterina said the Childers’ Fire Station, where he is unofficial station manager, had been plagued by a number of concerns in the past two years, from shoddy lighting to poor internet connection.

For the past 12 months, he claims volunteers and staff have been forced to work and train staff in a building with no air-conditioning, adding an unnecessary level of discomfort to an already demanding role.

Colin Santacaterina shared multiple concerns about the Childers Fire Station. Photo Paul Beutel

He further claims he has been waiting almost six months for an order of Personal Protection Equipment, which he understands comes from a Brisbane warehouse.

Mr Santacaterina said he had also heard rumours the Bundaberg Wyllie Street Station was battling an ongoing mould issue in the roof.

Despite raising these concerns through the chain of command, Mr Santacaterina said the issues were only addressed after they were taken to the Mr Bennett.

Mr Bennett took on the concerns shared by a number of volunteers and on Tuesday, March 5, placed a question on notice to the Fire and Disaster Recovery Minister Nikki Boyd.

“Will the minister confirm (a) the list of outstanding maintenance issues at the Childers Fire Station and (b) when these maintenance issues were first raised?” he asked.

Since the question was put before parliament, Mr Santacaterina said there had been a flurry of activity at the station, as long term issues were suddenly addressed, timing he believes is not a coincidence.

“It’s slowly getting done, but it shouldn’t have to come to this,” he said.

“You shouldn’t have to go to the media, or a member of parliament to say we can’t get maintenance done at the station.”

LNP Member for Burnett Stephen Bennett placed multiple questions on record for the Fire Minister,

He said despite the fact the concerns did not prevent the volunteers and fire fighters from doing the core of their jobs, which was fighting fires and dealing with rural emergencies, the state of the station often left him with little desire to return.

Mr Bennett raised a second question in parliament to Ms Boyd on Wednesday, March 6, after hearing rumours of mould throughout stations preventing rooms from being used by staff and volunteers.

“Will the minister confirm (a) the presence of mould at the Childers Fire Station and Wyllie St Station in Bundaberg, (b) whether access is limited to some parts of the facilities due to the mould and (c) what steps are being taken to remove this mould to protect the health of staff and volunteers?” he said.

Mr Bennett said he had found the timing of recent works performed on the station coincidental, but welcomed the work nonetheless.

“I guess the bottom line is it’s about resourcing our volunteers and our urban fireys, they’re screaming for resources, they’re the ones that come running when we need them and we just asking for some dignity to be provided to our volunteers,” he said.

The Minister for Fire has 30 days to respond to the question in parliament and was unable to provide a response to NewsMail inquiries by deadline.