The Townsville Fire entered the WNBL at the beginning of the 2001/02 season as the sole representative of Queensland. Denis Russell, David Rowbotham and Therese Smith were the key people in establishing the North Queensland based club. The trio developed the successful submission and were granted a WNBL licence. They also formed the clubs steering committee which managed the running of the club.
David Herbert was appointed the clubs inaugural head coach and after the club missed the playoffs in their first season they made it all the way to the preliminary final of the 2002/03 season after finishing second at the end of the regular season with a 15-and-6 win/loss record.
Herbert was also named WNBL Coach of the Year that season.
A change of direction in the Head Coach saw Peter Buckle come into his first season in 2007 - 2008 bringing the Fire within one game of being in the finals series. In 2008 - 2009 season the Fire reached the Preliminary Finals and then season 2009 - 2010 saw the Fire into the Semi-finals.
The Fire have been playing out of the New Projects Australia Stadium since day one and have enjoyed a strong fan support, media coverage and local business support which was highlighted when they set their home crowd record in November 2002 with 4,110 spectators.
Since its first year in the WNBL many high profile players have represented the Fire, including Gina Stevens, Suzy Batkovic, Natalie Porter, Rohanee Cox and Rachael Flannagan with Batkovic, Porter and Cox all going onto play for the Australian Opals along with coach Peter Buckle as Assistant Coach.
Cox, an indigenious Australian, has also made significant contributions to the local community and is a role model to the many young Townsville Fire supporters.
The club has strong rivalries with the Perth Lynx – for whom they compete against for the Gina Stevens Trophy – and the Canberra Capitals who they play for the Mick Churchill Memorial Shield.
The club is also proud of its ability to provide a pathway for female players to reach the WNBL.
