The tradition of competition amongst Queensland fire and rescue stations has been established over several decades. As early as 1930, a limited number of local teams from various fire brigades throughout Queensland have competed against each other. In 1983, the Fire Brigades Board's Association of Queensland (disbanded 1 July 1990) encouraged auxiliary firefighter competitions throughout the State. The introduction of the Queensland Auxiliary Firefighter Competitions in 1990 with the formation of a single state fire service further permitted station teams from across Queensland to compete in regional competitions, with successful teams progressing to the Queensland Firefighter Championship. Competition was further standardised to guarantee that events reflected core operational firefighting skills, equipment and appliances used at emergency incidents.

The Queensland Fire and Rescue Service (QFRS) has formalised competitions by recognising regional and state firefighter championships as a major strategy for improving the core operational firefighting skills of all Queensland firefighters. In 2003, firefighter competitions was expanded to include all Queensland Fire and Rescue Service full-time, auxiliary and volunteer operational firefighters. The competition events operational scenarios not only reflect the core firefighting skills and the diverse roles undertaken by firefighters, they also promote leadership, teamwork and skills maintenance training.

The QFRS State Firefighter Competitions Committee has the responsibility to develop and implement policy for firefighter competitions in accordance with direction from QFRS Senior Executive Management. The State Committee also provides advice, training and equipment support to Regions for the staging of their annual Regional Firefighter Championship. The Committee works closely with the host Region with the planning and coordination of the annual Queensland Firefighter Championship.

The Queensland Fire and Rescue Service is a foundation member of the Australasian Firefighter Championship Committee, and QFRS teams have attended all Australasian Firefighter Championships.