NSW’s top State Emergency Service (SES) volunteers have gone head-to-head putting their disaster rescue skills to the test for Exercise Thunderstruck at the Emergency Services Academy in Orchard Hills.
Minister for Emergency Services and Resilience and Minister for Flood Recovery Steph Cooke said seven teams competed in a round robin of hyper-realistic scenarios that simulate the immediate aftermath of an earthquake.
“This competition is a wonderful opportunity for our SES volunteers to trial their disaster rescue skills in a controlled setting so that when they’re faced with a real-world incident, they know how to respond with efficiency and confidence,” Ms Cooke said.
“Not only does this foster some healthy competition between the teams, it also provides an opportunity to learn new rescue techniques and methods.”
Also known as the State Disaster Rescue Challenge, the exercise tested speciality skills including casualty handling, rescue from heights, electrical safety, urban search and rescue, first aid, and mental health and wellbeing.
SES Commissioner Carlene York said Exercise Thunderstruck helps drive excellence and innovation in rescue.
“We’ve recently seen firsthand the valuable and various roles our volunteers play in saving lives and creating safer communities,” Commissioner York said.
“Exercise Thunderstruck is an effective way of evaluating the calibre of training our volunteers undergo, ensuring NSW SES volunteers are well-equipped to respond to any emergency.”
Among the challenges was the urban search and rescue scenario where volunteers worked together to rescue and then perform first aid on 14 victims trapped in a car park after an earthquake.
SES Units from Canada Bay, Gosford, Parramatta, Port Macquarie, Port Stephens, Queanbeyan and South Illawarra were represented at the exercise, as well as personnel from Fire and Rescue NSW and St John Ambulance.