Assist other Service

From time to time our Unit receives special requests from the Police or other emergency services to assist them. Co-ordinated through our Central Region Duty Officer, we could be called to assist the Ambulance Service with casualty handling or to help clear trees off roads for urgent Ambulance access.

Our rescue vehicles carry a large amount of fixed and portable lighting with associated power generators. For any operation we conduct at night such as storm damage emergency repairs or road crash rescue tasks, we use this lighting to illuminate the work area.

We have also been called to assist the Police at crime scenes with lighting inside and outside buildings, for the fire brigade at fires in structures, and around field command posts. At large incidents such as a building collapse or a prolonged fire we can position our lighting units and have them run 24 hours a day. Large regional lighting plants are now available upon request.

During the gas crisis in 1999 we were called to assist the gas companies by turning off thousands of gas meters to reduce gas usage throughout Melbourne. We provided several crews for three days who spent all day turning gas meters off. Not a glamorous task, but very important and part of a major response all over Melbourne.

Animals often find themselves in tricky situations requiring humans to help them. Over the years we have been called to assist farmers and rangers with cows or horses stuck in mud and unable to move. We have also rescued cats out of trees and have even helped extricate a dog from a fence when he got his head stuck between the fence posts.

Typical SES Tasks

• Supplying fixed and portable lighting to Police, Fire or Ambulance services
• Animal rescue in support of the RSPCA or the Council Rangers
• Assist Police with body recoveries from dams, rivers, drains, bushland or trees
• Crime scene line searches for evidence
• Assist fire services at chemical, biological and radiological emergencies with support services
• Providing ICC trained operation staff to support other emergency services during busy periods
• Utilising members to disseminate public health warnings or special advice on foot to residents