Charlotte Varcoe
DESPITE being a quiet week for the Mount Gambier and District State Emergency Services (SES) with only five callouts for assistance in the recent wild weather, volunteers remain busy preparing for a nation-wide competition for the first time in 20 years.
The recent wild weather received callouts for the SES including localised flooding, water over the roads and trees down in Kingston and Bordertown.
Mount Gambier and District SES officer Brad Flew said he believed there were so few callouts due to a lack of gusty winds and the community remaining vigilant in preparations.
“The community was obviously well prepared and all the drainage systems did what they needed to do,” Mr Flew said.
“The impacts were minimal across the whole South East district and we are certainly seeing the community take those extra steps to be prepared and simple things like making sure gutters are unblocked and roadways and residents properties are clear can certainly make a difference.”
He said heading into the winter season, while the region may not have consistent weather fronts, volunteers were expecting potential energetic systems to come through.
“People need to keep an eye on their property maintenance and make sure gutters are in good condition and the roof is also in good condition,” he said.
“People should also make sure during severe weather warnings they are aware and do not leave cars parked under trees and secure loose items.”
Although it was a quiet week, Mr Flew said a team of six SES volunteers from the Mount Gambier/Berrin branch remained on their toes with constant training for the annual Australian Road Rescue challenge soon to be held in Adelaide.
“The team we have prepared is training essentially every second weekend since March and the whole team has been working in our trade,” he said.
“They have undertaken everything from basic stabilisation – which is the basic skill sets – and now we are really working through the scenarios and working through all sorts of different challenges that we might face on our roads in the challenge.
“We are really looking forward to representing South Australia and emergency services and it will benefit us because it gives us an opportunity to have a look at what other states are doing in terms of technique and provides a learning symposium to meet with someone in new technology that is playing out in the environment.”
The Mount Gambier/Berrin team will be up against teams from other Australian state teams as well as New Zealand, Hong Kong and Great Britain teams.