Grantham Rural Fire Service volunteers open station to house residents flooded out

With fast-rising floodwaters isolating and trapping residents, three RFS volunteers worked for hours on end to open their station as an evacuation point to close to 30 people with nothing but the clothes on their back.

As floodwaters quickly rose around Grantham on Friday, February 25, many residents were caught off-guard by the speed in which the disaster unfolded.

In just a matter of hours, people had become trapped in their homes, cars were flooded and escape routes cut off.

Left with no other choice, three Grantham Rural Fire Service volunteers swung into action to not only open their station to become a makeshift evacuation centre for some 30 residents, but also transport people between a swift water rescue drop-off point and the safety of the station.

First officer Gilda Tate, chairman and third officer Kameron Turney and crew leader John Schultz were on the ground as the flooding unfolded across the region.

Grantham RFS officers (from left) crew leader John Schultz, first officer Gilda Tate and chairman, third officer Kameron Turney, Friday, March 11, 2022. Picture: Kevin Farmer

Despite their experience with flooding, all three were surprised by just how quickly floodwaters went from concerning to chaotic.

“We went into Grantham just to make sure everything was OK, but we became landlocked because the water had come down so fast,” Ms Tate said.

At 10.15am, the water started to rise, and by 1.08pm they were cut off.

“The plan was to have one truck on the high side and one down on the low side to service the community as was needed, but unfortunately, as the water came down so fast, we weren’t able to get one truck to the lower side,” she said.

With the Grantham RFS team now flooded in, Mr Turney and Mr Schultz took their truck to the Old Grantham Butter Factory.

The factory had become a drop-off point for Queensland Fire and Emergency Services swift water rescue crews that had been called in to assist people trapped in their homes by the rapidly rising floodwaters.

“The butter factory was intended to be an evacuation centre, but no-one had keys for it because the water came down that fast,” Ms Tate said.

“It made sense to take the people that swift water were bringing to our station to give them a hot shower, a cup of tea and a dry place to stay as they had nowhere else to go.”

(from left) Grace Taylor, Riley Martin and Summer Smith clean up at The Floating Cafe in Grantham. Monday, February 28, 2022. Picture: Nev Madsen.

As Friday morning gave way to afternoon and evening, Mr Turney said he lost count of how many trips he and Mr Schultz made.

“The last people we got out was close to midnight, there were a lot of people from the Grantham flat that we took into the fire station,” Mr Turney said.

At the peak of the emergency the station had about 30 people seeking shelter.

“They were cold, they were wet, and they were miserable, they had no clothes or nothing,” Mr Schultz said.

“Just having a hot meal and a coffee or tea meant a lot.”

Despite not being set up to be an evacuation centre, residents gave what they could to help make the evacuees as comfortable as possible.

“We got given blankets and pillows, air mattresses and stretchers,” Ms Tate said.

“The community was good, they all banded together and helped where they could.”

While Friday was the peak of the evacuation, all three spent the next three days at the station.

“The number of people who came to help in any way highlighted the community’s strength,” Mr Turney said.