From the SESVA President
Hello to you in the land and state of opportunity. Funny enough, many opportunities are earned and not just given to many of us. An opportunity for an SES Volunteer is to improve impact outcomes on their and other’s lives in communities not only here in the West but also around Australia.
Many Australians and people from overseas see what the SES does in response to major and minor natural disasters. The services provided are unique to the training and operational platform that has been established for the Orange Army.
From a community perspective, we are fortunate here in Australia. If you went to the USA for example, the local fire brigade is supposed to meet all hazards encountered and, of course, this is just not a responsible approach for those volunteers. There is far too much knowledge to acquire and too many skills to maintain for this to be a successful solution.
Using the original Civil Defence resources, Australia through the Federal Government created a State Emergency Service in each state and territory to manage the many hazards that fall outside the primary role of the Fire Brigade. Fire brigades are important to us and attend to many fires and accidents. However, while the SES may attend fewer incidents, these are generally more complex and often affect entire communities.
SES Volunteers help communities with higher consequence emergencies, yet are still made up of local community members, trained and exercised to respond to such operations.
In advance of the Western Australian higher threat months, I say thank you for the year-round service that SES Volunteers provide to our communities.
Be smart, take the opportunity, and act to improve the possible impacts on your lives and assets.
Greg Cook President
