The NSW SES Port Macquarie Unit was awarded the Director’s Shield as the best SES road rescue team at this year’s Australasian Road Rescue Challenge (ARRO) held in Lardner Park, Victoria on July 26 to 29.
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Overall the team came 11th out 18 of the best road crash rescue teams from across Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong.
The event included professional development opportunities for teams through training symposiums, practical workshops, and competition in technically complex rescue and trauma challenges.
The Port Macquarie team made an impressive start to the competition in the ‘Time Critical’ scenario.
The challenge required the release of a non-breathing patient with right hand and foot entrapment from an upturned sedan.
The team comprising Michael Ward (team leader), Michael Brumby and Sereena Ward (medics), Kevin Sherwood, Scott Witchard, and Alfred Portenschlager (technical crew) worked quickly and efficiently to stabilise the patient and effect the rescue.
They were scored well by the assessors and this set the scene for rest of the competition over the following three days.
NSW SES Port Macquarie Unit Controller Michael Ward said the lessons learnt from participating in these professional development activities is vital.
“It helps in ensuring we continue to meet our mission in saving lives and protecting communities,” he said.
“The communities of the Mid North Coast should feel confident that we providing contemporary and state of the art rescue services as part of the best volunteer emergency service in Australia”
Highlights of the competition and symposium included the exposure to new road rescue technologies, participation in well prepared and complex rescue scenarios and opportunities to learn new skills and network with the best rescue professionals from across Australasia.
A key component of the SES’s participation in this year’s competition was the sharing of knowledge and learning from the competition with other rescue Units from across the Mid North Coast.
Accompanying the Port Macquarie team were observers from the SES rescue Units at Gloucester and Kempsey.
The Port Macquarie Team will also be presenting at a local multi-agency rescue workshop and symposium planned for October later this year at Port Macquarie.