Busy lead up to New Year for Volunteers
While the community prepared to spend time with family over the Christmas New Year period, emergency service volunteers were holding their breath. For the Gosnells SES (State Emergency Service) it was a build-up to New Years’ Eve. Starting on Friday 28th, volunteers provided logistical support to the fire in Chidlow. The following day, anticipation started with the first cyclone of the season, Tropical Cyclone Mitchell, with the possibility that the volunteers would miss celebrating the new year with family.
With the temperature rising, the call went out on Sunday for search teams to immediately deploy to Flint, to search for a missing 14 year old. Replacement teams from Gosnells returned on New Years’ Eve to continue the search, knowing that they may not return to their families until late into the evening. While the community planned parties to bring in the new year, our volunteers were trying to stay cool in the bush.” said Local Manager Paul Hollamby. “Sacrificing the holiday period with family, for the community, is exceptional”
It is worth remembering that volunteers would not be able to make this commitment without the support of their families and employers. The SES train regularly to be able to combat many types of natural and man-made disasters
