Alton Downs Rural Fire Brigade

10/10/2026

A BUSY NIGHT FOR QFD IN ALTON DOWNS

At 18:36 this evening we received a call to a paddock on fire in the vicinity of Hunt and Harrett Rd. Crews arrived to find a large fire approximately 600 x 30m in size. We worked with Rockhampton Fire and Rescue crews to gain control and extinguish the fire in just over an hour.

Exactly 2 hours later at 20:36 we received another call of a car into a power pole near the Corner of Hunt and Ridgelands Rd. Alton Downs RFB was first on scene and observed a large SUV that had veered off the road and knocked down fencing and a power pole.
The power pole had subsequently caught fire to the surrounding grass. The driver was extricated and was taken to Rockhampton Base Hospital by Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS). It is expected Ergon will return in the morning to reinstate the power pole. Stay up to date on possible emergency repair outages on their website and page.

It is a timely reminder that even with the small amounts of rain and humidity around the risk of fire is still here. Drive safely and drive to the conditions.

Queensland Fire Department
myPolice Rockhampton Region
Ergon Energy Network

10/10/2026

09/10/2026

A huge thank you to the dedicated volunteers from Rural Fire Service Queensland (RFSQ) and State Emergency Service (SES) who worked together alongside Rangers and Queensland Fire Department (QFD) crews to contain the recent Mount Archer bushfire. 🚒🤝

From backburning and patrolling containment lines to blacking out and mopping up hotspots, crews worked around the clock to help protect homes, critical infrastructure and environmental values across the national park and Mount Archer area. 🌱

SES volunteers also played a vital role supporting the Rockhampton community through doorknocking, letterbox drops and traffic management, helping residents stay informed to stay safe.

While active firefighting operations have now concluded, crews remained on the ground monitoring containment lines, identifying hotspots and reducing the risk of re-ignition. 🔥

Investigations into the cause of the fire are ongoing, with public information indicating it started on land adjoining .

response is a team effort, and we're proud to work alongside the QFD, RFSQ, First Nations peoples and neighbours to help protect Queensland's protected areas and surrounding communities.

and visit the QFD website for the latest info about fires in your area and bushfire safety. 👉 https://parks.qld.gov.au/park-alerts

02/10/2026

🚨ALTON DOWNS FIRECALL🚒

Alton Downs is currently responding in Central 71 to multiple spot fires along the Burnett Hwy between Mt Morgan and Dululu.

Fire & Rescue crews from Mt Morgan and Rockhampton are in attendance, as well as crews from Calliungal, Bouldercombe, Wowan, Westwood and Dululu RFB’s

As of 17:00 the Burnett Hwy is closed in both directions and is expected to be for some time. This post will not be updated, stay up to date:

Queensland Fire Department
myPolice Rockhampton Region
Queensland Police Service

01/10/2026

We’re keeping a little secret, any ideas? 👀👀

01/10/2026

🚒 BI-ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

On Wednesday evening, Alton Downs Rural Fire Brigade held our Bi-Annual General Meeting, where all Administrative, Support and Brigade Officer positions were declared vacant before members voted on the positions for the next two years.

Firstly, we would like to thank all of our outgoing office bearers for their hard work, commitment and dedication to the brigade and our community over the past two years.

We would also like to thank Naomi, Jono and Clint from Area Office for attending and administering the meeting while our members voted on the new positions.

👨‍🚒 OPERATIONAL RESPONSE
First Officer: Owen Buckle
Second Officer: Rick Ouston
Third Officer: Matt Smith
Fourth Officer: Peter O’Brien
Fifth Officer: Caleb Paterson

📋 BRIGADE COMMITTEE
Chair: Rick Ouston
Secretary: Makhala Swinson
Treasurer: Peter Besch

🛠️ OPERATIONAL SUPPORT
Equipment Officer: Jacki Reid
Hazard Reduction & Mitigation Officer: Johanna Buckle
Communications Officer: Caleb Paterson
Training Officer: TBC

Congratulations to all members elected to their positions.

The results reflect the strong commitment of our members to the brigade and the wider community. We look forward to continuing to work together, supporting our volunteers and serving our community over the next two years.

30/09/2026

A great view from above showing the scale of the work Queensland National Parks and Queensland Fire Department had to put in to contain this fire.

29/09/2026

​​​​​​When predicted conditions and hot, dry and windy weather forecasts show that fires may be difficult to control and may harm the community, the Queensland Fire Department might declare a local fire ban.

29/09/2026

🔥 AUGUST CALL OUTS 🔥

Catching up on our call outs for August, and it was certainly a busy month for Alton Downs RFB.

With 17 more call outs than August last year, the increase reflects the dry conditions the region experienced throughout winter and the impact this has had on grass and vegetation fires across the area.

Some of the incidents our crews attended throughout the month included:

• A large fire at the corner of Ridgelands and Woodford Roads, with more than 10 appliances from across the region in attendance.

• A large vegetation fire near the top of the range at Mount Morgan, which was suspected to have been deliberately lit.

• A small fire caused by welding just down the road from the station. Thankfully, the landowner had extinguished the fire prior to crews arriving.

• A large fire at Bajool, adjacent to the magazine, with crews from across the Rockhampton and Gladstone regions attending.

• A large grass and vegetation fire at Midgee along the Old Bruce Highway, with more than 15 RFS and Fire and Rescue appliances in attendance.

Our members maintained an overall call out attendance of more than 70% throughout August.

A huge thank you to all of our members for continuing to give up their time and make themselves available when the community needs us. It has been an exceptionally busy fire season, and the dedication of our volunteers does not go unnoticed

UPDATE: The maths were not strong on this one, updated totals in the comments!