FEMALE State Emergency Service (SES) volunteers across the Gippsland region came together over the weekend (April 15-16) at the VICSES Sale Unit as part of the growing VICSES Women in Rescue (WIR) event – established for female volunteers, by female volunteers.
Women in Rescue is a targeted training event designed to celebrate women in emergency operations, to get hands on with the tools and equipment, share rescue skills, and have fun in a safe and supportive environment.
VICSES chief executive Stephen Griffin said the Women in Rescue initiative provides a great opportunity for both experienced and newer members to come together and share their skills and knowledge in a supportive environment.
“It also provides a fantastic opportunity to network with fellow female volunteers from across your region,” he said.
“WIR aims to empower women to showcase their skills in contributing to the safety of our communities. It is critical that we reflect the communities we serve, and build the confidence and leadership among our women in orange.
“Our female first responders at VICSES are incredible, and attend highly complex, challenging incidents. Our Women in Rescue event showcases their life-saving skills, using the latest rescue technology and training.”
Founded in 2018, this year was the largest WIR event yet, with eight locations across Victoria hosting the event simultaneously and a 93 per cent increase in uptake this year – almost double the number of participants to 2022’s event.
The day itself focused on the hands-on, practical components of rescue operations. A variety of specialised training and exercises were set up to cover the diverse capabilities that VICSES volunteers require during a range of different emergencies.
The WIR initiative first came about as the Sunbury Unit recognised the importance of encouraging more women into rescue operations. It is designed to help modify training techniques to suit members with varying strengths and capabilities, and empower women to showcase their skills.
The event also aims to promote gender inclusion and diversity within VICSES, and encourage the recruitment and retention of female VICSES volunteers. Currently, 1655 of all 4893 VICSES volunteers are female (34 per cent), and VICSES would love to boost that figure to ensure it reflects the communities they serve.
At the WIR event in Sale, the volunteers tackled various skills-based demonstrations, including road crash rescue techniques, 4WD and winching skills, and mass casualty simulation training.
Events were also run at SES units in Pakenham, Bangholme, Wangaratta, Huntly, Ballarat and Gembrook.
VICSES has many amazing women within the service who contribute significantly to organisation and their communities.
To volunteer with VICSES, or for further information on what it means to be a VICSES volunteer, visit www.ses.vic.gov.au/join-us
