Following on from last weeks extremely informative and enlightening meeting with principals of the Caloundra Lighthouse redevelopment committee, the Jimna Fire Tower Action Group (JFTAG) has received added positive public responses to the technical matters dicussed concerning the proposed redevelopment of the Jimna Fire Tower into a tourist attraction. Workplace health and public safety issues have attracted much interest with a range of possible solutions being collated for future professional analysis. 

While JFTAG awaits details of the proposed Queensland Heritage Council (QHC) engineering review, this is an opportune time to allay some of the myths that have been allowed to circulate, and to answer some of the most frequently asked questions, for example:

Q1 – Is the Jimna Fire Tower currently or has it ever been affected by white ant infestation?  A1 -There is no official previous evidence, or any indication by recent expert observation that white ants have ever been or currently are active.

Q2 - Being heritage listed does that mean that the Jimna Fire Tower is old and in disrepair?  A2 - Not at all, in fact the tower was built in 1977 making it just 29 years old, and although some weathering has occurred due to lack of maintenance, there has been minimal structural impact.

Q3 - Why does the government want to demolish the tower? A3 -The Jimna Fire Tower is no longer used for plantation fire detection as this duty is now carried out by camera surveillance.