SES seeks fresh volunteers
BRAVE, active and helpful – if you fit this description then the State Emergency Service (SES) wants to hear from you.
SES Gladstone leader Doug Savage said they were hoping to recruit about 40 new volunteers, male or female aged from 18 to 65.
“About 10 (new volunteers) in each area (Calliope, Mt Larcom, Gladstone and Boyne Tannum) would be lovely,” he said.
“We're always on the look out for new members.
“There's a natural turnover, with people getting older and leaving (as well as) moving towns for jobs.”
Mr Savage said being a volunteer was a great way to give back to the community.
“The gratitude of the people you help is obvious and a reward in itself,” he said.
Mr Savage said volunteers took about a year to fully train.
“Training is generally one night a week for about three hours (and) volunteers take about 12 months … before they are really up to speed.”
All training and personal protective equipment is free.
Mr Savage said there were numerous roles people could take on.
Such roles include aerial observation, traffic control, incident management, road crash rescue, special rescue, community education, flood boat operations, storm response, search, vertical rescue and agency support.
So if you're interested in joining the SES, then go along to the SES group headquarters in your area on one of their meeting nights.
