QFES denies claims of prioritising budget over safety during 2022 floods in Toowoomba, Grantham

The Queensland Fire and Emergency Service has hosed down claims that they prioritised their budget over staff and community safety during the most recent flood event.

The United Firefighters Union says the Queensland Fire and Emergency Services Southwest District could be endangering lives by cutting staff numbers during recent flood events, but the emergency organisation has hosed down those claims.

QFES policy dictates that regions activate additional resources during serious weather events based on the Severe Weather Alert Level.

When the alert is activated to level three, as was the case with the February floods, the policy states two level-two trained Fire and Rescue Service swift water rescue technicians must be rostered in Toowoomba at all times.

This is so they can respond to reports of people trapped in floodwater within minutes and do so safely.

Level two technicians are trained to enter floodwater, either on foot or in a boat, while level one technicians are limited to using rope lines to drag people to safety from dry land.

The policy also states that four-level two technicians are needed for an ‘in-water Swiftwater rescue’.

Union Secretary John Oliver claims the QFES Southwest Region put staffing in Toowoomba to just one level two technician on shift during the recent flood event, effectively halving the amount of money spent on overtime.

He said when the crew was needed, a second level two technician was called into the station, often from their home where they could be caring for children or asleep.

Mr Oliver claimed the cut to on-shift staff numbers has led to delays up to a full hour in responding to some recent call-outs.

“Swiftwater rescues are some of the most dangerous things we do,” he said.

“Crews jump into those swollen rivers without knowing what is below and (QFES) is (potentially) putting firefighter’s lives in danger and the community lives in danger by not staffing the station correctly.

“If it gets any worse we are going to lodge a dispute.”

A Queensland Fire and Emergency Services spokeswoman rejected claims QFES Southwest Region prioritised its budget over staff and community safety and said there were 18 level two technicians employed in the Southwest region, enough for a 24/7 roster.

“QFES has a budget allocation for emergent events and disasters and there are mechanisms in place with federal agencies to assist with the funding requirements to appropriately resource disaster events,” she said.

“QFES will always prioritise the requirement for resourcing to maintain personnel and public safety ahead of the cost of doing so.”

The spokeswoman went on to say that during serious weather events QFES will redeploy staff to locations where demand for services is anticipated to increase.

“These activities are undertaken in line with operational plans and are dynamic so that they can be adjusted according to demand in different parts of the region or in other regions of the state.”

The benchmark for a call-out is 14 minutes across Queensland but varies case-by-case, particularly when roads are cut by floodwater.

Originally published as QFES denies claims of prioritising budget over safety during 2022 floods in Toowoomba, Grantham