VICSES refines water skills at 2024 NSW SES Flood Rescue Symposium
Victoria State Emergency Service (VICSES) representatives joined more than 200 colleagues from across Australia and New Zealand to bolster their flood rescue approach, as part of a conference held near Sydney earlier this month.
VICSES volunteers and staff were in attendance at the NSW SES Flood Rescue Symposium from 8 November, sharing their knowledge and experiences with emergency service representatives from five Australian states and territories, as well as members of Auckland Emergency Management.
The Symposium, aimed to promote the delivery and understanding of incident control, land-based, on-water and in-water flood rescue responsibilities, while building relationships and finding efficiencies in the collective response and management of flood rescue emergencies across Australia.
The three-day event offered attendees the opportunity to engage with a range of presentations on topics including leadership, flood rescues in the urban environment and how to mentally prepare for operations, before developing their water rescue proficiency through skills training at the Penrith Whitewater Stadium.
Supported by some of Australia’s most proficient water rescue experts, volunteers from VICSES Knox and Sunbury units also took part in a mass-casualty multi-agency flood rescue exercise on the final day of the symposium, applying their respective in-water and on-water (boat) rescue techniques alongside SES volunteers, police, surf rescue and fire services representatives.
Staff and operations personnel also further refined their incident management capability, overseeing and managing the flood rescue simulation from a remote cell.
As the control agency for flood and storm in Victoria, and as a support agency for water rescue, VICSES representatives benefited considerably from engaging with their interstate and international colleagues at the Flood Rescue Symposium, and will now consider how key learnings can be implemented in Victoria.
Quotes attributable to Mark Cattell, VICSES Assistant Chief Officer Readiness
“The 2024 Flood Rescue Symposium was a fantastic opportunity for VICSES to work and train with emergency service colleagues from throughout Australia and New Zealand, and learn the unique ways each of these organisations approach these challenging emergency situations.
“VICSES volunteers train for all manner of rescue scenarios, and events like these are a great way of informing ways in which we can lead and support our local emergency service partners.
“We look forward to continuing to engage with these opportunities, and exploring ways in which VICSES can continue to ensure our volunteers are prepared to act swiftly and with precision during a flood rescue emergency.”
