Kingaroy Local Ambulance Committee

05/09/2026

Happy Father's Day to our amazing Paramedic dads 🤗🩵

Thanks for all you do every day.

27/08/2026

Kingaroy Local Ambulance Committee held its AGM recently and I offer this summary of our activities for the past twelve months August 2025 to August 2026.
Our LAC is part of the Darling Downs and South West Region (DDSW) of Queensland Ambulance Service. Our Assistant Commissioner Peta Thompson is based in Toowoomba. Currently AC Peta is on leave and Mei-Lin Dean is acting in her role.
Kingaroy LAC and Kingaroy Station staff are very proud of Mei-Lin who holds the substantive Officer-in-Charge position at Kingaroy Station. Mei-Lin has held many relieving roles in the DDSW Region over the past few years and we’ve been fortunate to have some wonderful Acting OICs. Currently this role is being undertaken by Chelsea Blinco. Kingaroy LAC is very grateful for the support of all Acting OICs and paramedics, especially when we take part in community engagement sessions.

LAC Executive positions remained the same and one member Kendall Siddans resigned after nearly 17 years. We gained two new members during the year, Leonie Gavioli and Robbyn Alback and both ladies have taken on their roles with enthusiasm.
Our current membership: Peter McLennan, (President), Darryl Dove (Vice-President), Kay Dove (Secretary, PR, history & photo albums), Sharon Leach (Treasurer), John Box, Debbie Jackson, Danita Potter, Abigail Andersson, Leonie Gavioli and Robbyn Alback.
The Kingaroy LAC was kept busy again in the past 12 months with many community engagement sessions offered, and these included: Cardiac Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and Automated External Defibrillator (AED) Awareness; the importance of installing the Emergency + App on mobile phones, and first aid favourites - Stop the Bleed, Snake Bite and Stroke Awareness.
Education is offered to LAC members - Darryl and Kay took the opportunity to attend the LAC State-wide Conference in Bundaberg and the LAC Forum in Dalby which hosts representatives from DDSW Region. Several LAC members also renewed their currency to instruct and took part in CPR Peer Training. We were fortunate that our Toowoomba based QAS educator came to Kingaroy Station.

In late 2025, LAC Secretary Kay Dove was appointed to the Assistant Commissioner’s Reference Group - she represents LACs from the South Burnett area including Proston, Murgon, Kingaroy, Nanango and Yarraman. Representatives from these South Burnett LACs have an annual get-together to socialise, compare notes and swap ideas.

Whilst our LAC does not actively seek donations, we are always happy to take part in the Kingaroy RSL raffle nights which adds another $300 to our coffers. Most groups who receive a community engagement session from us also make a donation to our LAC. This money is used to purchase educational handouts.

At the end of each year our LAC invites our OIC and staff to a get-together to celebrate achievements and it is an opportunity to say ‘thank you’ to our incredible paramedics as well as LAC members who do great work in our community. LAC members also enjoy the Christmas celebration hosted by our local MP, Deb Frecklington.

Ongoing LAC projects this year include the importance of clearly visible Rural Addressing signage and we were grateful to Mayor Kathy Duff who promoted this through the SBRC Facebook. We are also working with Rotary Kingaroy, who have, over a long period, donated several AEDs around Kingaroy and surrounds. Our LAC is assisting to ensure AEDs are in good working order, are checked regularly as well as being highly visible. It is hoped that our new forms to assist with maintenance of AEDs will be launched in conjunction with Kingaroy Rotary and Restart a Heart Day on 16th October.
💙A few photos as a snapshot of the last 12 months💙

23/08/2026

What a wonderful outcome 👏 🩷

13/08/2026

Are you visiting the EKKA? Call in and say hello and you can learn some new skills too 👏🩵

Send a message to learn more

29/07/2026

Thanks to our local online news for their great story on last Friday's Career's Market at TAFE Kingaroy campus.
It was great that QAS and Kingaroy LAC could attend and interact with so many students! 👏💙

The annual South Burnett Careers Market at Queensland TAFE's Kingaroy campus took on a special meaning last Friday ... it was the facility's 40th birthday!

24/07/2026

Great information ❤️

🚑 MYTH vs FACT 🚑

❌ MYTH: If paramedics are coming, there's no need for an AED.

✅ FACT: Every minute counts during cardiac arrest.

When a person experiences cardiac arrest, their chance of survival decreases with every passing minute. While paramedics respond as quickly as possible, the actions taken before they arrive can make a significant difference.

Early CPR helps keep blood flowing to vital organs, while an AED can help restore a normal heart rhythm if needed.

That's why publicly accessible, registered AEDs are so important. They give bystanders the opportunity to act while emergency services are on their way.

Paramedics, CPR and AEDs aren't an either/or situation - they work together to give someone the best possible chance of survival.

Knowing where your nearest AED is located today could help save precious time in an emergency tomorrow. ❤️

❓Does your business have an AED?
❓Is it registered?
❤️‍🩹 Reach out to us for more info on how to register your AED.

24/07/2026

We've had a busy day at Kingaroy's TAFE Queensland for the annual Career's Market. So many interesting and informative stalls for students to ponder their collective futures.

Kingaroy Local Ambulance Committee members assisted Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS) paramedics from across the South Burnett to deliver CPR instruction and the use of AED's (defibrillators). We were so fortunate to have the expertise of Justin (OIC Murgon), Jules (A/OIC Nanango) and Renae (A/OIC Yarraman). Thanks also to Advanced Paramedic Sarah for her great work today 🤗 A few other Paramedics popped in to offer support, which was appreciated 🤗

One young student from Nanango SHS received 100% for her CPR technique. Very well done Summer 👌

Emely from Kingaroy SHS received a score of 99%. She rested and wanted to try again - she still received an amazing 99% 👏

LAC VP Darryl was able to capture the attention of groups of a students to deliver the important message about installing the Emergency Plus App on their mobiles. He had very positive reactions from these great young people 👏

We hope there will be a few future Paramedics from all the students who visited our stand. We certainly provided them with the info that can assist !!

All in all, a very rewarding day.

TAFE Queensland
Murgon Local Ambulance Committee
Nanango Local Ambulance Committee
Nanango State High School

16/07/2026

We had another great Community Awareness session this morning. It's our third this month and there is one more to go next week!!

Orana welcomed us to their lovely Community Hub room and we spoke about CPR and AED (defibrillator) awareness. Stop the Bleed, Snake Bite and Emergency Plus App. We also touched on signs of a Stroke i.e. what to look for F.A.S.T. (Face, Arms, Speech and Time).

In two weeks we've gone from Under 8's to these wonderful 60, 70 and 80 year olds who had lots of questions and also had great input into the session.

It was great to meet people from Orana's Cottages and also other seniors from Wondai and Nanango. ❤👏

Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS)

15/07/2026

Evening all, did you realise that tomorrow is International Snake Awareness Day?

If you don't have a snake bite kit, then p l e a s e buy one at your local Chemist. They are not expensive and honestly they can help save a life if used correctly.

The new bandages are very clever and let you know how firm to wrap the bite site, as well as info re marking where you think the bite was etc...

Kingaroy LAC will again be sharing this message at a community awareness session tomorrow.

Take care everyone 💙

14/07/2026

How lovely is this post?
🩵I'm sure many Emergency Services people will enjoy 🩵☕️

There's something quietly happening at Whipbird that we've never really shared before.

It all started with one incredibly kind, generous customer.

Every time he and his wife visited, he'd quietly leave some money behind and ask us to put it on an emergency services tab. His hope was simple: that if a paramedic, police officer or firefighter stopped in during a busy shift, their coffee would already be taken care of.

He kept doing it. Again and again.

Over time, a few other customers heard about it and wanted to be part of it too. Without any fuss or fanfare, the tab slowly grew.

These days, all of the coffees we hand across the counter to our local emergency services have already been paid for by members of this incredible community.

We don't share this story because anyone involved is looking for recognition. In fact, we'd say they'd probably rather we didn't. We share it because we think kindness like this deserves to be celebrated.

To the customer who started it all, thank you. Your generosity has created something far bigger than a few cups of coffee. You've inspired others to give, and you've reminded us that small acts of kindness have a way of growing.

To everyone who has quietly added to the tab over the years, thank you. And to our local ambulance crews, police officers and firefighters, thank you for everything you do for our community. We hope that, in the middle of a busy day, a warm coffee reminds you just how appreciated you are.

(P.S. Huxley still thinks sitting in the fire truck was one of the greatest days ever. 🚒❤️)