General News
15 September, 2026
FIRED UP
A LANDHOLDER has criticised the Queensland Fire Department for what he claims was its inefficient handling of a dangerous fire in Mareeba recently.
A LANDHOLDER has criticised the Queensland Fire Department for what he claims was its inefficient handling of a dangerous fire in Mareeba recently.
He also disputes information given to The Express by QFD following the blaze.
Bruce Craven says he is disappointed in the QFD, criticising the local brigade for inefficient procedures and mismanagement in relation to the bushfire on Sunday 23 August.
The fire, which was burning behind the Mareeba Industrial Estate between Adil Rd and Springs Rd, warranted the department’s issuing of Prepare to Leave warnings at 1.50pm and 4pm that afternoon.
Mr Craven believes the fire could have, and should have, been contained on Sunday night or at least by Monday. Instead, it was declared completely extinguished at around midday the following Thursday.
Information given to The Express on Monday morning indicated the fire had been deemed under control as of Sunday night, and that to the department’s knowledge, no property damage occurred.
Mr Craven insists it was not under control that night. In fact, he took it upon himself to backburn against the fire, which would otherwise have burnt “all the way to Biboohra”.
He also strongly disagrees that no property damage occurred, claiming upwards of 20 properties and land titles were affected. He listed items such as a crop net worth approximately $1 million, a large irrigator (approx. $700,000), a tractor, several cars, bollards, and crops such as cane, as being torched in the blaze.
“I’m really disappointed. For them to give what they have given to you guys, that they’ve done a great job and everything – as far as I’m concerned it was terrible,” Mr Craven told The Express.
“They said there was no property damage, which was absolutely wrong. And I rang them Sunday night and said, ‘You need to backburn here, otherwise this is going all the way to Biboohra’, and I was told that they had no one to come out and respond to it. So I backburned off a firebreak that I put in for the council and contained it.”
Mr Craven went to check on the fire again the next morning and found a fallen tree setting more bushland alight.
“I rang in that morning going, ‘Where’s your fire guys? I told you guys last night you need to actually be here checking this’. They weren’t there, so I had to put it out again,” he said.
Mr Craven then claimed the fire brigade had planned to backburn his 100-acre property which he leases off the council, but after questioning QFD’s actions, he received a call to visit the Mareeba fire station where police officers were waiting for him, but the situation remained calm.
Back at the property, Mr Craven and another man identified where the fire was still burning and told the fire brigade they needed a helicopter and loader to fight it.
“They just went, ‘No. We’re backburning’, and lit it up, at like 9 o’clock in the morning,” he said
Being a former cane harvester, Mr Craven said he’d had his fair share of experience with fire management, and this event had left him perplexed.
“I used to have to get permits off these guys to do these things, right?” he said.
“And they would never issue a permit before 3 o’clock because it’s too risky, and yet here they are lighting fires at 9 o’clock in the morning. That is just unbelievable to me. I can’t understand how that is safe for them or for the firies that are on the ground.
“They’ve pretty much called every fire unit in, running around out there on a hot day trying to fight something, that, really, you don’t have any control of until nighttime, and then they all pack up and go home – when you can actually put it out.”
Mr Craven went on to say he had to “guilt” one of the firefighters into coming out again on Monday night. Upon arrival, the firefighter said crews were scheduled to revisit the area in the morning.
“If they’d backburned that night, they would have had that fire contained. It jumped the break twice when they lit it up the next day at about 10 o’clock. Then they had to have the helicopter again to fight it,” he said.
“So, absolute piss poor management on the fire brigade side of it as far I’m concerned.”
The department did not respond to Mr Craven’s allegations, instead outlining to The Express how it had acted.
“Queensland Fire and Rescue (QFR) and Rural Fire Service Queensland (RFSQ) responded to a grass fire on Springs Road, Mareeba on Sunday 23 August at approximately 10.40am,” a spokesperson said.
“This grass fire presented risks to community infrastructure and significant resources were directed to contain the fire. QFD resources included more than 60 assets including ground crews and aerial support throughout the five-day incident and we especially thank all the firefighters who assisted to protect the Mareeba community.
“As part of the response to protect communities, backburning operations were conducted to strengthen containment lines and prevent damage to infrastructure and dwellings.
“After this critical work was completed, the fire was declared to be burning safely within containment lines at approximately 8.30pm that evening and crews continued to monitor the situation.”
