The Airlie Beach Fire and Rescue Station could soon move into the heart of Cannonvale thanks to new plans that will place one of our key emergency services at a location where it is needed most.
A vacant plot on the corner of McArthur Drive and Shute Harbour Road has been selected.
Currently located in Jubilee Pocket, the old station was built in 1974 and Station Officer Rees May said it has served the community well but due to the increased population, it is no longer central.
“There’s been a lot of add-ons over the years but essentially we’ve got to the point now where the station is too old and we’ve outgrown it,” he said.
“It is no longer a central location to support the community’s needs hence why we are going further into the community - it is going to improve our response area and the response time to incidents.”
Two years ago, the fire station increased its permanent staffing to 13 full-timers who work a seven/seven shift commencing at 6am and finishing at 6pm.
The station also has a pool of over 20 Auxiliary Fire Fighters on-call throughout the night.
Currently servicing from Shute Harbour to Brandy Creek, the new location will enable the response area to extend to Proserpine.
This will hasten response times to any incidents on the highway.
In addition, the new station will have the capability to become an instant command centre during natural disasters.
There will also be potential for more fire trucks as the new site will have three bays and a host of other modern facilities.
Officer May said that residents living close to the new location do not need to worry about any excessive noise.
“It won’t be that noisy after hours – we don’t leave the station with the sirens blaring late at night – if it’s in a residential area we are considerate to the residents and put sirens on at an appropriate time.”
The new location is currently in planning stages, pending final approval.
Fire Fighter Blair Mitchell, Station Officer Rees May, Fire Fighter Andrew Neil, Station Officer Paul Pfeifer and Fire Fighter Nick Bellinger are excited about the move
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