New rural fire facility to be built at old Maryborough Tafe site

The state government has announced a multimillion-dollar plan to redevelop and repurpose the old Tafe centre at Oakhurst, with planning already underway.

The former Maryborough TAFE site at Oakhurst.

The state government announced on Tuesday it would build a new dedicated Rural Fire Service Queensland facility at Oakhurst, on the Fraser Coast, with planning already underway.

A statement from Fire and Disaster Recover Minister Nikki Boyd said the facility would provide a significant boost to RFSQ operations in the region, supporting frontline operations and future growth and development of operational capability.

It’s proposed the site will initially house multiple local RFS brigades, stationing them at a location where they can safely assist the community during severe weather events, the statement said.

It said the state government made a commitment to fund the new RFSQ facility in 2022, with the site proposed to station multiple brigades, providing them with a new, centralised station for brigade operations and ensure they are well-positioned to respond to incidents and natural disasters.

The former Maryborough TAFE site at Oakhurst.

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“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.

“The facility is one of several significant projects in the Maryborough region, with a new North Coast Region headquarters and Maryborough Fire and Rescue Station completed in recent years.

Maryborough Labor MP Bruce Saunders said the station would be a Queensland first in providing a central facility to support a region’s Rural Fire Service Queensland brigades.

“We have a number of brigades across our region and this new facility will allow for those brigades to receive the best support during responses to major incidents and natural disasters,” he said.

“The old Maryborough TAFE site will have a second life providing a valuable service to the community by supporting our local brigades and their volunteer members.”