Nearly 100 volunteers and staff from the South Australian State Emergency Service (SES), SA Country Fire Service (CFS) and Metropolitan Fire Service (MFS) have returned home after providing crisis support to communities across the country.
Extreme weather events interstate – including devastating flash flooding in North Queensland, Cyclone Zelia in Western Australia and bushfires in Victoria and Tasmania – prompted South Australian personnel to answer the call to help.
Groups deployed over the past month are now all safely back home, with the latest – an 11-member SES deployment to WA and a CFS volunteer who travelled to Tasmania – returning to Adelaide at the weekend.
“Our frontline personnel have stepped up to help communities in need across the length and breadth of Australia,” said SA Emergency Services Minister, Emily Bourke.
“Selfless volunteers paused their own lives and travelled thousands of kilometres to support areas devastated by fire, flood and extreme weather.
“Their efforts across the border, and the families who backed them in, deserve to be recognised and thanked,” she said.
Three deployments were sent to flood-ravaged Queensland, assisting with emergency response and recovery efforts in Townsville, Ingham and other parts of the state.
These five-day rotations comprised around 70 frontline personnel from the SES (47 members), CFS (10 members) and MFS (10 members), reinforcing South Australia’s commitment across our emergency services to support interstate agencies.
“I’d like to acknowledge the incredible efforts of our MFS staff who volunteered to assist our interstate colleagues at a time they and their community were in need. Their dedication, compassion and selflessness should be commended,” said MFS Chief Officer, Jeff Swann.
“The MFS has a strong community focus, and an unwavering commitment to assist those in need. It is a privilege that South Australia’s emergency services can unite to help other states in their time of need.”
SES crews also helped with Victorian staging areas for significant fires in and around Horsham and Halls Gap, supported by CFS brigades in the state’s South East and Department for Environment and Water (DEW) specialist firefighters.
“I am incredibly proud of our highly trained and committed SASES volunteers who put their hands up to answer the call for help, leaving behind their families, work and commitments to provide support for fellow Australians in crisis,” said SA SES Chief Officer, Chris Beattie.
“I personally thank all SASES personnel who deployed for their commitment and dedication and also the efforts of those who have stepped up to maintain our day-to-day operations at home during this busy period.”
It follows the incredible efforts of CFS volunteers to contain the Wilmington fire, in the Flinders Ranges, which burned around 5,400 hectares in steep, hard-to-reach areas amid hot and dry conditions.
Local brigades have been supported by CFS volunteers from across the state, along with more than 40 SES members who were deployed over a two-week period to assist crews on the ground and support and protect the Wilmington community.
“South Australian CFS volunteers should be incredibly proud of their dedicated service, providing crucial assistance to communities in need in both Tasmania and Queensland,” said CFS Chief Officer, Brett Loughlin.
“I offer my sincere gratitude to all South Australian emergency services personnel and their families.”
