By KATH GANNAWAY
MEMBERS of Upper Yarra SES have been awarded the National Emergency Medal for the role they played during and after the Black Saturday bushfires in 2009.
Twelve members were presented with the medals by Regional Manager Ray Jasper at the unit’s Wesburn headquarters on Thursday night, 22 August.
Mr Jasper said the Upper Yarra SES members were of great assistance to the CFA and other agencies during the Black Saturday Fires.
The unit was operational from the start for three weeks, 24 hours a day, responding to more than 230 calls for assistance from the local community and from the CFA Incident Control Centre in Woori Yallock.
Mr Jasper said SES volunteers carried out tasks which ranged from washing out the eyes of fire-fighters affected by the smoke and grit, restocking food supplies, setting up base camps, manning the staging area, driving into fire-affected areas and responding to road rescue incidents.
“It was a big commitment on behalf of the volunteers and also the families to assist the community and the other agencies over a number of weeks,” he said.
Unit spokesperson Jule Syme said the Upper Yarra Unit had served the community for more than four decades with a current volunteer membership of 32 members who respond to more than 700 calls for assistance every year.
Ms Syme said the 2009 bushfires saw their volunteers engaged in many roles that displayed the great range of skills they have within the unit.
“Not only does the Upper Yarra SES Unit respond to storm-related jobs but is also the road rescue unit for the area,” she said.
“We have many highly trained volunteers who perform alpine search and rescue, act as air observers, chainsaw operations and community education.
“We assist police and carry out many more rewarding services in the community.
“For anyone who would like to help their local community, learn some interesting new skills and get to know their community, becoming an SES volunteer is a great way to do it,” Ms Syme said.
The Upper Yarra SES Unit trains on Thursday nights at Wesburn at 7.30pm. Phone 1300 842 737 for more information.
