Local state emergency services have been putting in work behind the scenes, upskilling their volunteers and staff with the best search and rescue practices to protect communities.
The Victoria State Emergency Service Chelsea Unit was joined by members of the SES Narre Warren Unit, SES Pakenham Unit and SES Monash Unit for a special training event in Carrum.
Their training included a mock safety mission that required skill, teamwork and communication to ensure their victims were brought to safety as quickly as possible.
SES units had boats and members on the water, and other members involved in a land search for three missing people, in a scenario created to be as realistic as possible, outlining what happened and what the crews needed to do to successfully save the victims.
The scenario included two boats that had collided on Patterson River, with several people on board, reports stating that one person was in the water, two people were seen getting to shore, but appeared injured and a fourth person was seen walking away from the scene, but no information of their involvement, or any injuries they may have.
Boat crews were required to locate the person in the water, recover them, and get them back to shore for paramedics to assess any injuries, and for the land search teams to locate the two people seen on shore, and get them back to a safe area to be assessed by paramedics.
This training event covers vital skills required by those working on the boats, land search techniques, casualty handling, radio communications, map reading and navigation, working as a team, and, of course, safety.
Those who participated in the SES training were treated to a late-night snack of hot chips and potato cakes to celebrate their success on the mock mission.
An SES Chelsea Unit spokesperson said on Facebook that the training scenarios are designed to be as real as possible, to ensure that members are ready to go, should an incident like this occur in the real world.
“We never know when the next job is coming, or what that job may be, so we must be prepared for anything,” said the spokesperson.
Training sessions are a regular occurrence of the local SES units to ensure their teams are capable of providing the best service to local communities.
