Each brigade struggled to survive, unable to attract a viable subscription base and hampered by inadequate equipment and an unreliable water supply.

The establishment of an effective fire service did not enjoy a high priority among civic and government leaders.

The railway link to Cleveland via Wynnum in 1888 was a major impetus to closer settlement with large areas of land being taken up soon after.

[1] Wynnum was perceived to be a "healthy" place to live with its sea breezes, protected beaches, vistas to Moreton Bay, fishing and the availability of fresh local produce.

Three blocks of land were purchased in Mountjoy Terrace, opposite Wolsey Parade, and a temporary building erected to serve as the fire station and residence.

A weatherboard-clad, gabled shed was constructed at some time shortly after the new fire station, being visible in a 1943 aerial photograph.

[1] The 1938 building continued to operate as a fire station until 2004 when a new facility for the service was built elsewhere and this property was sold into private ownership.

[1] The former Wynnum Fire Station is a two-storey, symmetrical timber-framed building in Mountjoy Terrace opposite the south-western end of Wolsey Parade.

The bathroom is substantially intact with the terrazzo floor, pressed metal wall sheeting and the original hot water heater remaining.

Clad in weatherboards and flat sheets at the gable ends, internally the shed is partitioned into two spaces.

A concrete driveway along the western boundary arrives at the hose drying area and shed to the side and rear of the station.

[1] The former Wynnum Fire Station was listed on the Queensland Heritage Register on 28 May 1999 having satisfied the following criteria.

The former Wynnum Fire Station has aesthetic and architectural significance as a modest, functional civic building.

[1] The place has a special association with the life or work of a particular person, group or organisation of importance in Queensland's history.

The former Wynnum Fire Station is important for its association with the work of the architectural firm Atkinson and Conrad.