Following concerns raised by Noosa residents regarding the lack of Fire Danger rating signs in our hinterland, Sandy contacted the Queensland Minister for Fire and Emergency Services:
The initial response included the following:
With the introduction of the nationally consistent Australian Fire Danger Rating System, the old fire danger rating signs were removed as they were out of date, no longer relevant, and in some cases damaged or illegible.
The site selection criteria for the new electronic signs sought to achieve the highest impact and benefit for the whole community. Regional personnel used their local knowledge and bushfire management expertise to determine the locations for the new signs, including identifying sites of high traffic flow.
However while we understand that the official Bushfire Warning System includes a multilayered communications strategy including the Queensland Fire and Emergency Services (QFES)’s website, social media pages and other media such as radio to distribute fire warnings, in an electorate such as Noosa with multiple hinterland communities, it is not sufficient to simply locate a fire danger rating signs in high traffic flow areas such as Tewantin or Gympie, and expect that this will somehow relate to residents or visitors in Pomona, Cooran, Peregian and Kin Kin as examples.
Following Sandy’s further advocacy with the Minister, it has now been confirmed that work is underway to identify additional localities where these signs can be effective, ensuring the highest overall benefit to the community. We await notifications on these within the Noosa Electorate and will update as more information is available.
Up to date fire danger ratings can be obtained from the QFES’s website www.qld.gov.au/fdr, which includes a feature for residents to search by their address for the forecast fire danger rating across four days at their location and also from the Bureau of Meteorology at www.bom.gov.au/qld/forecasts/fire-danger-ratings
Further information
Further direct advocacy regarding this or any other matters related to Fire and Emergency Services can be directed to the Queensland Minster for Fire and Emergency Services via police@ministerial.qld.gov.au. Please cc’ our office in via noosa@parliament.qld.gov.au and forward any response you receive to us.
A reminder expanded training resources for our rural and volunteer firefighter training, as well for non-voluntary staff have been funded following advocacy from our office and others. More information is available at www.sandybolton.com/fire-and-emergency-personnel-development-august-2023
Information on Fire Bans and Permits are available at www.sandybolton.com/fire-bans-permits-november-2023. In addition, a Noosa 360 on our water supply can be found at www.sandybolton.com/water-supply-shortages-november-2023
Updates on state matters we are working on are available at www.sandybolton.com/noosa360. Just use the handy search bar to find your topic of interest.