January 13th, 2024Devastating scenes on Queensland deployment: CFA

CFA firefighters who have recently been deployed in Queensland to support the flood and storm clean-up have spoken about the devastation to affected communities.

More than 40 CFA volunteers were deployed to south-east Queensland on 30 December alongside 70 other emergency management personnel. 

Devastating and dangerous floods and storms impacted the area on Christmas Day and Boxing Day.   

Victorian CFA crews travelled to Helensvale near the Gold Coast to undertake tree removal and temporary roof repairs, with members specialising in chainsaw operations and working at heights.  

Bayswater CFA Captain Jamie McFarlane, who was one of the members deployed, said there was a huge amount of damage to houses. 

“A lot of locals are working together to fix some of it but the ongoing work is going to take months to clean up,” he said. 

Crews from VICSES and CFA alongside NSW SES have teamed up to help, with ongoing storms making the clean-up harder.  

“It’s still a dynamic situation and the weather is still impacting the area, at times we have to move to safety to allow the storms to pass,” Jamie said. 

“It’s devastating for the towns and local communities affected but we will continue to do as much as we can while we’re here.”

CFA Chief Officer Jason Heffernan said his thoughts were with those affected communities. 

“Ongoing conditions are challenging in Queensland but I’m glad our crews are able to lend a hand,” he said. 

“Our crews are working as a contingent with VICSES which has been seamless. The two agencies have common training at working with heights, which has been invaluable for this deployment. 

“Thank you to everyone involved in the deployments, as well as those who remain behind to continue to protect our communities.” 

This taskforce arrived back on New Years Day and another deployment took off on January 2.