THE State Emergency Service (SES) don’t snuggle down under the doona during a storm – they get up and strap on their boots and get stuck into saving our lives, homes and cars.

These well trained volunteers are an integral part of our statewide emergency response network and they often run towards danger when instinct demands us to run in the opposite direction.

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Local SES crews recently came together to compete in the 2022 State Road Crash Rescue Challenge as part of a multi-agency team.

It is the only team of its kind, involving members from NSW SES (Port Stephens Unit), NSW Ambulance (Singleton Station) and VRA Rescue NSW (Central Coast Squad) coming together to form the ‘Hunter Valley Rescue Team’.

This diverse crew were the overall first placed NSW Team, the overall first place SES Team, the first placed team in the CPR Challenge, and the second placed NSW team in Entrapped Rescue.

David Douglass, the Port Stephens SES Team Leader, told News Of The Area, “The State Rescue Challenge was a great opportunity for over 250 rescue professionals to come together, share learnings, develop skills and participate in a friendly competition with each other.

“The real winners from this challenge are the communities we protect,with the improved inter-agency cooperation and ability that each member brings to a rescue scene.

“It is absolutely amazing what our Hunter Valley Rescue team has achieved for the second year running. “We can now set our sites for the Australian competition held in Tamworth during July and if all goes well, we will then be onto the World competition held in Luxembourg during September,” he said.

Alysha Springett, one of the Port Stephens SES Team Members, said, “It was a fantastic event, full of camaraderie, team work, technical skills and ensuring the best outcome is achieved for the patients.

“Our multi-agency team truly reflects what we do on a real job – members from different emergency services all work together to support the patients,” she said.

With well trained and dedicated crews like this the people living in our region know we are in safe hands if we are ever in need.

By Marian SAMPSON