Unitywater and Queensland Fire and Emergency Services (QFES) have signed a formal agreement outlining how the two essential services will work together into the future.
At the heart of the memorandum of understanding is ensuring that fire-fighting capability meets community expectations across Unitywater’s service area of the Sunshine Coast, Noosa, and Moreton Bay regions.
Unitywater’s Executive Manager Infrastructure Services, Glen Babington, said that quality communication between the QFES and Unitywater will create wider benefits.
“On a practical level, the agreement means that emergency workers can access and use fire hydrants when they need to, while the surrounding community continues to receive an uninterrupted water supply,” Mr Babington said.
QFES North Brisbane Zone Commander Acting Superintendent, Neil Francis, said the formal agreement will ensure firefighters can locate and utilise reliable reticulated firefighting water supplies to better service the community.
“When attending incidents it’s critical that usable reticulated water supplies can be quickly located to ensure the safety of firefighters and the community,” Mr Francis said.
“This agreement outlines the responsibilities of each agency in partnership so that the common goal is achieved.”
The agreement spells out how Unitywater and QFES work together on mutually important issues such as exchange of information, technical aspects of the water network, maintenance, and audits.