Podcast: Old Bundaberg Fire Station

“The plan is to turn the fire station into an arts, cultural and wellbeing precinct open to the public so that they can actually enjoy, I suppose, the experience of coming into what was a fire station,” Bridges CEO Sharon Sarah said.

You can imagine the rush of activity when a call came in, the noise of the sirens, and the bravery of those people who chose to run towards a fire instead of away from it.

The old Bundaberg station is on the corner of Woongarra and Tantitha Streets and was purpose built in 1958 for the Queensland Fire and Emergency Service.

The property was impacted by flood water during the 2013 flood event, and has been vacant since the new Queensland Fire and Emergency Services facility opened in Thabeban in 2018.

In 2021, the property was purchased by Bridges Health and Community Care who have big ideas for converting it into a space that will once again serve the community.

“The plan is to turn the fire station into an arts, cultural and wellbeing precinct open to the public so that they can actually enjoy, I suppose, the experience of coming into what was a fire station,” Bridges CEO Sharon Sarah said.

Part of that plan is documenting stories of past Fire and Emergency Service personnel in an audio exhibition.

“Our intention is to capture the history of the fire station and so that people can enjoy that as an experience.

“We'll use it, I suppose, down the track once the fire station is open to tell the history and capture the history from their voices and their lived experience of what they did,” she said.

Listen now to hear more about the Bridge’s plans to pay homage to the old fire station, and current and former emergency personnel:

Hidden Histories: Old Bundaberg Fire Station (buzzsprout.com)