National Disaster Rescue Competition 2013 – WA Team
The 2013 National Disaster Rescue Competition was held at the CFA Training College in Fiskville, Victoria on the weekend of September 21 – 22 and hosted by the Victorian SES. This year, WA was represented by a team from the Kimberley Region, comprising of SES Volunteers from Broome and Derby SES Units.
The team was made up of :
- Laurie Hicks – Team Leader (Broome SES)
- Craig Starcevich – Deputy Team Leader (Broome SES)
- Rob Philips – (Broome SES)
- Matt Puncher – (Broome SES)
- Jeremy Van Schie – (Broome SES)
- Andrew Klepacki – (Derby SES)
- Tracey Chamberlain – Reserve (Broome SES)
The team began training in various forms of General Rescue in the months leading up to the competition, simulating a range of different rescue scenarios and situations that they may encounter over the weekend. They developed new skills and consolidated existing ones as they practiced working together as a team, a vital part of the criteria that the judges would be looking for.
The team coped well with the change of climate in Victoria as the temperatures plummeted compared to those they were used to at home and thankfully the weather in Fiskville was kind over the 2 day competition with no rain falling.
All States and Territories besides Queensland were represented at the event and the organisers hailed it as a great success with a great spirit of cooperation and friendly competition amongst all of the competing teams. The different rescue scenarios included a rescue from heights, a rubble pile, a collapsed building, a plane crash, a train crash and a sandbagging stand. The WA Kimberley Team finished in 7th position, however the judges made it very clear that there was not much difference at all between 1st and 7th spots overall and a special mention was made of the innovative methods used by the WA Team to complete some of the stands.
Photos taken at the event:
The team at their final training session before departing – from left to right – Team Manager DO Matt Reimer, Andrew Klepacki, Team Leader Laurie Hicks, Craig Starcevich, Reserve Tracey Chamberlain.
At the back – left to right – Jeremy Van Schie, Matt Puncher & Rob Philips.
Rescue from Height –Shows the team completing the Rescue from Height stand.
Collapsed Concrete & Steel – Shows the team completing the collapsed building stand.
Train Crash – Shows the team after just completing the Train Crash stand.
Matt Reimer
District Officer – SES | West Kimberley | Department of Fire and Emergency Services
