Qld: Govt to review fire service

AAP General News (Australia)
02-13-2008
Qld: Govt to review fire service

BRISBANE, Feb 13 AAP - The Queensland Fire and Rescue Service (QFRS) will be reviewed
in a move to boost frontline services, the state government says.

Emergency Services Minister Neil Roberts told state parliament today the review would
identify any areas where resources could be redirected to the frontline.

The QFRS was last year allocated a record budget of $360 million, up $36 million from
the year before.

"I want to be reassured we are maximising these resources onto the front-line," Mr Roberts said.

The review comes after the government ordered a similar study into the Queensland Ambulance
Service late last year.

The government has since promised to overhaul the ailing ambulance service by axing
bureaucrats and finding more paramedics.

But Mr Roberts said the QFRS review would not mirror the ambulance audit because the
fire service was not experiencing the unprecedented demand facing the QAS.

"Unlike the Queensland Ambulance Service, demand for Queensland Fire and Rescue Service
assistance has remained reactively stable in recent years," he said.

"For example, over the past five years ambulance demand has increased by a massive
46 per cent compared to 9.7 per cent for the Queensland Fire and Rescue Service."

Mr Roberts said the QFRS remained one of the top fire services in Australia, with 50
per cent of cases responded to in under seven minutes.

He said 97.6 per cent of cases were responded to in under the 14 minute benchmark.

AAP rm/pjo/cjh/bwl

KEYWORD: FIRE QLD

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