Queensland Fire and Rescue Service - History

History

The QFRS is the result of 150 years of evolution in Queensland’s fire fighting services; in fact the QFRS was born from Australia’s oldest formal volunteer fire service, formed in 1860 after a fire destroyed a Brisbane cabinet making workshop. The early years were tough for the Brisbane Volunteer Fire Brigade and it wasn’t until 1889 that the first full-time firemen were employed.

The first legislation for rural fire management was the Act to Prevent the Careless Use of Fire 1865, and for urban fire management, the Fire Brigades Act 1876. In 1990, the Queensland Fire Service and the Rural Fires Council were formed replace the 81 Fire Boards in local government areas and the Rural Fires Board; this was the first step in creating a single fire service for Queensland.

In 1997, it became the Queensland Fire and Rescue Authority and 2001 saw another name change to the current Queensland Fire and Rescue Service.

On Monday 22 April 2013 at Ayr Fire Station in North QLD, The Premier Hon Campbell Newman announced that Cabinet had received the Malone Review into the Rural Fire Services recommending that the current Rural Operations arm of QFRS become an independent service in its own right bearing the name Rural Fire Service Queensland (RFSQ) which, along side SES will be parallel services with QFRS all under a Chief Officer. This review will be considered as part of the Keelty Review into Police and Emergency Services