By Callum Ludwig
Hillcrest CFA was kept busy over the Easter long weekend, hopping back and forth from Easter festivities and fundraising to fire brigade call-outs.
The brigade was called out to three road incidents over the extended break, though one on Monday 1 April ended up being a false alarm.
Hillcrest CFA brigade member Rochelle Poulton said the first call-out happened in the middle of their Good Friday Appeal fundraising.
“When the page went off, we all went back to the truck and headed off and when we arrived on scene the traffic was pretty backed up, but thankfully the cops were already on the scene, given that it was a long weekend,” she said.
“We saw that it was a two-car MVA (motor vehicle accident) and all occupants were out of the vehicle, which was good, and they were all getting monitored by AV (Ambulance Victoria),”
“We were there for an about by the time we had gotten there to once we had finished the washaway.”
The incident on Good Friday occurred in Launching Place at the bend in the Warburton Highway near Launch Fresh at about 1.35pm and Ambulance Victoria confirmed that one person was transported by road to Maroondah Hospital.
Mr Poulton said the second call-out was in the early hours of the morning on Saturday.
“It was about four o’clock in the morning and it came through as another car accident with possible persons trapped,” she said.
“When we arrived on the scene, we saw that a car had rolled over but thankfully, the neighbour was able to get the driver out of the car and he was being monitored by Ambulance Victoria.”
The second incident occurred on Gembrook-Launching Place Road in Launching Place and Ambulance Victoria confirmed that a man was transported by road to Maroondah Hospital.
Ms Poulton said even when out and out participating in community activities, the brigade always has a fully operational truck.
“We have a full crew ready to roll in the case there is a fire call and I personally was on that truck as well this time,” she said.
“Essentially we just had the truck nearby where we were walking the streets and then when the pager went, we went back to the truck as quickly as we could, got dressed and headed to the scene.”
As well as their Good Friday Appeal efforts, the brigade also held a barbecue on Saturday to raise funds for themselves to go towards equipment and other costs.
Ms Poulton said especially on the long weekend, it’s important that drivers are extra cautious, extra prepared and not driving distracted or fatigued.
“Obviously you always see a spike in car accidents on the long weekend because there are more people on the road and this particular weekend we got paged to three car accidents, and thankfully only two of them were actual car accidents and no one was seriously hurt,” she said.
“When you’re driving in unfamiliar territory particularly, you just want to make sure you are driving to the conditions and even if the speed limit says it is 80, if you are unsure on the bend or how the road goes after the corner, just slow down,”
“It’s just another reminder for everyone just to stay safe and that everyone wants to go home to their families.”
