The tradition of competition amongst Queensland auxiliary firefighters 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 June 1990) encouraged auxiliary firefighter competitions throughout the state. The introduction of the Queensland Auxiliary Firefighter Championship further permitted successful teams from within zones to compete to a state championship level. With the formation of a single state fire service in July 1990, the management of the Queensland Fire Service standardised auxiliary firefighter competitions in order to guarantee that competitive events reflected core operational firefighting skills.

The Queensland Fire and Rescue Service has formalised a standard approach to firefighter competitions by recognising regional and state firefighter competitions as a major strategy for improving the core operational firefighting skills of firefighters.

The competition operational scenarios not only reflect the core firefighting skills and the diverse roles undertaken by firefighters such as rescue and community education, they also promote teamwork and skills maintenance training. The Queensland Firefighter Competitions provide an incentive and challenge for all firefighters.

In 2003, the competition was expanded to include all Queensland Fire Rescue Service (QFRS) full-time, auxiliary and volunteer operational firefighters.