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\u201cI professionally was a paramedic, so for 30 years I was employed either by Ambulance Victoria or in other training or education roles with some universities,\u201d Mr Barnes said.<\/p>\n
\u201cLiving here in Bacchus Marsh I realised that there\u2019s a high reliance on volunteers so it was whatever I could do or contribute to upskilling the capabilities of volunteers here.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe unit was very keen to develop its road rescue capabilities, so it started competing in challenges, but it found itself at odds against other teams from elsewhere in Australia where they had professional paramedics as part of their team.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Barnes’ leadership was pivotal in response to the Exford bus crash in May 2023 where seven students were seriously injured.<\/p>\n
He applied life-saving medical first aid including a tourniquet and showed composure.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are only probably a handful of jobs, I don\u2019t know how many tens of thousands of cases I\u2019ve been to, that would be one of a handful that obviously stretched us,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn some ways you just throw the rule book away because of what you have to deal with and the situation.<\/p>\n
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