Janaury 25, 2013<\/strong><\/p>\n The Rural Fire Brigades Association of Queensland\u2019s new Contact Centre was officially opened in Gympie this morning.<\/p>\n Assistant Minister for Emergency Volunteers Ted Malone said the centre had already proven a valuable tool in helping raise money to support brigades and their volunteers.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is a tremendous centre that not only raises much needed funding for the service but also provides employment for nearly 50 people right here in Gympie,\u201d Mr Malone said.<\/p>\n RFBAQ president Mike Garrahy said the Contact Centre was a positive move for rural brigades.<\/p>\n \u201cThis move will let the RFBAQ support the brigades more efficiently in our fundraising efforts for volunteer rural firefighters and brigades in Queensland,\u201d Mr Garrahy said.<\/p>\n The RFBAQ runs five art unions per year, each aiming to raise $600,000, to assist rural fire brigades.<\/p>\n \u201cEach week, the hardworking staff speak to around 24,000 Queenslanders seeking funding for the very service that protects 93 per cent of the State from threats of fire and other natural disasters,” Mr Malone said.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd believe me, the 34,000 members of the Rural Fire Service are thankful for the RFBAQ\u2019s support both financial and in kind.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Rural Fire Brigades Association of Queensland\u2019s new Contact Centre was officially opened in Gympie this morning.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3],"tags":[90],"yoast_head":"\n