QFES Commissioner Greg Leach chalks up one year in the job, battling bushfires, floods and a global pandemic

At the end of his first year in the job, Queensland’s Fire and Emergency Services Commissioner Greg Leach is worried about fatigue.

“We’ve been running hard as an organisation now for many months,” he said.

“Our state operations centre has done well over 400 days of continuous operations when normally it would surge up for a bushfire event or surge up for a flood event.

“For me, fatigue is a concern. It’s about trying to cycle our people through, whether they’re staff or volunteers so they can get a break, because everyone needs to refresh and recharge the batteries.

“When people get tired that’s when safety can be compromised.”