Helipad a boost to disaster plan

AN AREA of land from the recently approved Lockyer Valley airport will be given to the Lockyer Valley Regional Council to establish an emergency helicopter pad.

Randal McFarlane. . Picture: Rob Williams

A PARCEL of land from the recently approved Lockyer Valley airport will be given to the Lockyer Valley Regional Council in order to establish an emergency helicopter pad.

The helicopter will be used for firefighting and rescues in the case of another flood.

Lockyer Valley Mayor Steve Jones said the helipad would be a huge boost for disaster response.

"After the tragic events of this year this is a generous and very welcome lifeline for our community," he said.

The pad will entail far more than a simple concrete slab.

It will be a self-contained facility including refuelling capacity and an area for crew rest, with the airport planning to install new water tanks to help local firefighting.

Airport developers VNE Systems spokesman Randal McFarlane said the helipad would able to service rescue and firefighting helicopters.

"There is a dam on site we are retaining that helicopters can refill from, as well as the nearby Lake Clarendon," he said.

"In the case of a bushfire helicopters could collect from the dam or the lake to fight it."

The airport itself will be home to a number of huge water tanks and a permanent fire engine in order to control any fires that occur on site.

The construction of a helicopter pad was identified by the flood commission as a critical piece of infrastructure in the Valley.

A Lockyer Valley based helipad was listed at the top of a south-east Queensland mayors' wish list in July.

The project was named as one of the cheapest and easiest means of helping victims in future disasters.

The initial stages of the Lockyer Valley airport were approved last month by the council.

The council is hoping the facility will attract commercial flights in and out of the region.

Originally published as Helipad a boost to disaster plan