An all-female group of volunteers have been armed with life-saving flood rescue skills, as the NSW State Emergency Service (SES) empowers women to upskill this International Women’s Day.
The Flood Rescue course, held at Penrith Whitewater Stadium over the weekend, saw 24 NSW SES and other emergency service female members learn vital rescue techniques.
Participants were trained to self-rescue using defensive and aggressive swimming techniques, rescue a casualty using throw bags and rescue poles, and how to transport an injured casualty from swift-water environments.
Leading the course was two of the SES’s female trainers, Bega Unit volunteer Michelle De Friskbom and NSW SES Operational Training Officer Cheyenne Wickert.
Ms Wickert said the course was about encouraging more women to get involved in flood rescue.
“When I first did the course some ten years ago, we didn’t have a lot of female role models who were flood rescue operators in my area,” she said.
“My unit responded to a number of flood rescues at the time, and I was sitting around thinking ‘should I do it?’. I decided I was going to dive in the deep end, and I fell in love with doing it.”
Ms Wickert has since undertaken countless flood rescues, including during the 2022 floods in the Northern Rivers.
“As we were on a boat to Tumbulgum, people waved us down and said there was a lady with two dogs stranded on a shed up the road,” she said.
“We rescued the lady and her pets and transported them to safety. A few days later, she came across one of our on-water operators and gave him a big hug to say ‘thank you’.”
NSW SES Deputy Commissioner Capability and Training, Daniel Austin commended the women who successfully completed the arduous course.
“These women will play a crucial role in keeping communities safe in times of floods and storms, and will now join more than 3,500 NSW SES flood rescue operators across the state,” he said.
“Flooding doesn’t discriminate and it’s important that our flood rescue cohort reflects the people that we rescue, be it men or women.
“And what a fitting time to complete the training, as our service celebrates International Women’s Day.”
The NSW SES boasts more than 4,100 female volunteers, who assume a variety of leadership and frontline positions including chainsaw operations, flood rescue, storm response, vertical rescue, peer support, chaplaincy and logistics.
“Nearly 40 per cent of our volunteers are women, who go above and beyond to keep their communities safe,” Deputy Commissioner Austin said.
“We value and actively seek female members in all capabilities, and we are committed to supporting their participation.”
On the same weekend, the NSW SES also delivered a woman-only High Clearence Vehicle (HCV) Logistics course, with six participants learning to safely and effectively use the large flood rescue vehicles.