![\"\"](\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2021\/03\/SES4_66733.jpg\")
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"RAIN, hail or shine SES volunteers are there whenever disaster strikes.<\/p>\n
Now the SES is calling on the local community to be there for them in their time of need by making a donation to its \u2018virtual tin rattle\u2019 fundraising drive.<\/p>\n
Community engagement officer for SES Bellarine Unit, Wendy Rabone, has attended storms, floods, fallen trees, searches for missing people and motor car accidents.<\/p>\n
The jobs can be natural disasters, \u2018manmade\u2019 or sometimes even \u2018teenage-made\u2019 disasters.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe did a beach rescue recently at Point Lonsdale where a boy was trapped; kids had dug a big hole in the sand and it compacted around his body when they filled it up,\u201d Wendy says.<\/p>\n
Ambulance, fire, police and the SES were all at the scene. It took a couple hours to get the boy out of the hole.<\/p>\n
The incident occurred away from the shoreline and not lower down in the wet sand where you might expect it to occur.<\/p>\n
\u201cThank god, they didn\u2019t bury him any higher than his waist because his lungs could have been crushed,\u201d Wendy says.<\/p>\n
It all starts with a message on the pager. Available volunteers put on their signature orange protective gear and attend the scene.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou just do what you can, when you can,\u201d Wendy says.<\/p>\n
Wendy and her husband have been involved for about six years and some members have been volunteering for 10 to 15 years.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve had quite a few storm events on the Bellarine Peninsula over the years, but we\u2019ve also been seconded to go and help out in other places too.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Bellarine Unit membership usually consists of about 35 to 40 members and they are currently recruiting for more.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe started to do it because we\u2019d just moved to the area,\u201d Wendy recalls.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe wanted to give something back to the community and we wanted to get out and meet like-minded people.<\/p>\n
\u201cMost of us are in it because we enjoy helping people. Along the way you learn new skills and meet some fantastic people.\u201d<\/p>\n
Everyone does a general rescue training when they first start.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo that gives you just the basics,\u201d Wendy says.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut we also have specific training courses for using a chainsaw, using the road crash rescue equipment, doing land searches and mapping navigation courses.\u201d<\/p>\n
After a volunteer was hit by a car in Geelong while doing a roadside tin collection, the SES now conducts virtual tin rattles.<\/p>\n
Wendy says the funding the SES gets from government does not meet all its operational costs.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have what we call rescue one, which is our main big truck,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a smaller rescue support truck, and we have two four-wheel drives.\u201d<\/p>\n
The unit must replace the four-wheel drives every 10 years and that is where any funds raised will go.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we\u2019ve ever come out to assist you in a storm or a flood or wherever SES are volunteering, we\u2019re not being paid and we would appreciate any support,\u201d Wendy says.<\/p>\n
Donate to the SES Bellarine Unit virtual tin rattle at givenow.com.au\/bellarineses<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
RAIN, hail or shine SES volunteers are there whenever disaster strikes. Now the SES is calling on the local community to be there for them in their time of need by making a donation to its \u2018virtual tin rattle\u2019 fundraising drive. Community engagement officer for SES Bellarine Unit, Wendy Rabone, has attended storms, floods, fallen […]<\/p>\n