A new team of rescuers hopes to be responding to road crashes in greater Bendigo by the end of the year, with the Marong State Emergency Service training to secure its road rescue accreditation.
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The City of Greater Bendigo already has two road rescue accredited SES units at Bendigo and Heathcote, with a further satellite station expected to open at Huntly in June.
Marong SES deputy controller of training Glen McDougall said the accreditation process could take units up to three years to complete. “We hope by the end of this year we’ll be dual responding with other units,” he said.
So far this year, 101 people have lost their lives on Victorian roads and countless others have been injured.
At present, if there is a crash and the Bendigo unit is busy, Mr McDougall said the nearest SES team available could be at least an hour away.
“Because Bendigo is growing it makes sense to provide this service to the community,” he said.
“Ninety per cent of the people who wear orange, they signed up to help others and if we can help them in their time of need, that’s great.”
The Marong unit provides emergency assistance to areas on the west side of the city, including Eaglehawk, Maiden Gully, Big Hill, Ravenswood and Neilborough.
It also takes in the high crash area of the Calder Alternative Highway.
Fifteen individual members of the Marong unit are already accredited in road rescue, with another eight in training.
Mr McDougall said new members were being sought for the unit, especially to help out during the day.
“The big problem for Marong is there is no industry out there so we don’t find daytime responders,” he said.
The unit received 150 calls for assistance in 2016, up from 110 in 2015.
The unit will receive two new vehicles in preparation for its new duties, along with road rescue equipment, the first of which was delivered on Thursday.
Marong SES section leader of training Trent Knight said the unit had received a great deal of support from the Bendigo unit during training.
He encouraged anyone interested in learning more about the SES to visit the unit in Cathcart Street during training on Thursdays from 7.30pm.
“It’s not all about the heavy stuff,” he said.
“There are so many different aspects to what we do from making tea and coffee at Driver Reviver sites, to dealing with incident management at a control centre during a flood. There’s something for everyone.”