FREE NEWSPAPER
THURSDAY 13TH AUGUST 2026
LOCAL RUNNERS RAISE MONEY FOR MENTAL HEALTH
RACING INFRASTRUCTURE BOOSTED IN GRANTS FUNDING
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123 Edwards St, Ayr
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W Caption
hen Queensland Fire Department (QFD) officials signed off on 24-hour station designs for Ayr in January, local firefighters thought their years of advocacy and sacrifice had finally paid dividends. Those plans went up in smoke when the Department instead decided to retain current staffing
models in the district, leaving after-hours response on the shoulders of burnt-out permanent officers and an auxiliary workforce that is evaporating by the year. “It’s sickening,” Queensland Professional Fire Fighters Union Townsville Country Branch Secretary Peter Marten said.
“The community is not aware that if a fire happened tonight, or someone was trapped in a car tonight, they might have to wait 40 minutes for the first fire truck to turn up. “I just don’t understand how [the Department] could be willing to take that risk.”
read on page 4
AMBASSADORS BRING A LITTLE WATER FESTIVAL MAGIC TO OZCARE AYR See the photo gallery on page 18
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