Friday 21 April 2017

EASTER PARADE 3 -I need a hero

These guys and gals turn out at all hours, in all weathers, to help us. So I thought their appearance in the parade deserved a seperate post. Especially as so many of them are unpaid volunteers. My hubby is in SES : State Emergency Service, he was in the Paddy Platypus mascot costume. 






Police followed by ambulance.

 

History






 


The CFA: Country Fire Authority , who turn out for bushfires, house and business fires, car accidents, in case there is a fire, etc. An absolutely indispensable , beloved and famous part of life in Australia.

 




 






 
 


Forest fire management get out in bushfires with the best of them. It's a dirty, smoky job. They also conduct planned burns to reduce the risk of bushfires.



 








SES -State Emergency Service, I know a bit about because of hubby. They train every week at meetings, and sometimes weekends too. They get out to car crashes, to extricate trapped people, using the jaws of life and other tools. They sandbag properties in danger of flooding, they get up on leaky roofs and put tarpaulins over them in storms, they rescue people in floods, with ropes and boats. They rescue people on cliffs, and lost people in the bush, anywhere where people get stuck. They even assist the other emergency services in the event of a bushfire, provide floodlighting for police forensic investigations , and cut up trees that fall over the roads.

 




 



 




 




 




 




 









 




 




 




 


Some places are impassable for even the four wheel drive vehicles, so different SES units have different smaller vehicles, like off road bikes, quad bikes, even snowmobiles.

 



 




 




 



 



The volunteer coast guard is very important in our district as we are near the coast. According to their website they conduct 
  • Radio Monitoring
  • Safety Patrols
  • Vessel Assistance
  • Vessel Tracking
  • Search and Rescue at sea. 


 




In the case of an emergency, Red Cross trained volunteers are often there too. They have an arm here that is highly trained in first aid. Their other arm provides meals in the event of a crisis like a bushfire or flood, and raise money for Red Cross. So do the CWA (Country Women's Association) ladies. St Vincent de Paul and other helping organisations help in relocating and furnishing homeless families . Indeed many groups pull together to look after the community in times of need. Apex, Rotary and Lions, plus businesses and other organisations in town, raise money for the SES, CFA, hospital, etc. During the festival, they had stalls, art exhibitions and a monster market, to raise money. The parade is a good way to show off the equipment that the community has payed for, and to honour the heroes.


6 comments:

Profound Familiarity said...

That's a lot of trucks. I didn't realise how many different emergency services Australia had.

If the UK had an emergency parade, I think there'd just be the ambulance, the police and the fire service.

Actually, the ambulance would be four hours late, the police would say over the phone that there wasn't anything they could do and the fire service wouldn't be able to get through because the parade route would be lined with parked cars on both sides.

Running on empty said...


Wha do you think is the cause of the police and ambulance problems?

Kathy said...

A big shout out to all first responders!!!

Running on empty said...


And PTSD is a very real danger for them too.

Badger said...

Hi Cath, I am in total admiration of your hubbie and all those good people who work to keep you all safe, they project all that is good in a human being, and I send all my best wishes for their safety and their special soul.

Running on empty said...


Thanks Badger!