The SES’s annual Wear Orange Wednesday was celebrated with a special reunion of a Kalorama family and the rescuers who attended their home on the hill during the chaos of the June 2021 storm.
Dandenong Ranges residents Megan Ferguson, her husband Danny Leonard, and two children Maeve and Elsa attended the 2024 WOW Day launch on Sunday 19 May, where they were reunited with the SES volunteers who helped rescue Danny during the devasting storms in June 2021.
The team of VICSES volunteers who put their safety on the line to save Danny were recently honoured for their bravery with a rare ‘Commendation for Bravery’ award.
The eleven volunteers from VICSES Emerald and Lilydale units were awarded the commendation for their response to the incident near Kalorama where Danny was trapped by large fallen trees during the destructive winds.
After almost three hours, crews were able to successfully extricate Danny and provide egress for Ambulance Victoria crews to safely transport him to hospital.
The award’s citation noted all SES volunteers had worked in extremely hazardous conditions after the imposition of a ‘Cease Operations Order‘ for all non-priority responses, such was the nature of the event’s destructive winds. It said crews made repeated assessments of the risk and continued with the lifesaving rescue each time.
These volunteers showcased their commitment to their community, successfully coordinating a multi-agency response while facing considerable danger head-on.
In challenging conditions, the crews worked to get to Danny as further trees dangerously fell in the area. One of VICSES’ Emerald Unit’s response vehicles was also crushed by a falling tree that night but the crew were thankfully all out of the vehicle at the time.
“Our VICSES volunteers showed distinct bravery to successfully provide a potentially life-saving rescue response to this particular incident,” VICSES operations manager Di Batley said.
“This is a fantastic example of how VICSES volunteers are able to efficiently work alongside partner agencies to provide best-practice care and support to those in our community.”
Held annually, Wear Orange Wednesday encourages the public to thank and acknowledge the work of SES volunteers in their community, by wearing a splash of orange.
In the last 12 months, VICSES volunteers have responded to more than 33,000 emergency requests for assistance across Victoria.
VICSES volunteers support Victoria Police across a range of search and rescue roles, responding to over 1,600 ‘Assist Police’ jobs every year. This includes: assistances at searches for missing people, searches for evidence at crime scenes as well as scene preservation.
In the 2022-23 financial year, VICSES volunteers gave almost 290,000 hours of their time supporting their communities during emergencies, with plenty more spent refining their skillset during weekly training events, skills maintenance, simulated exercises, community engagement events and so much more.
VICSES provides the largest road crash rescue network in Australia, with our highly-trained volunteers playing a significant and vital role in road safety. VICSES responded to over 1,600 Road Crash Rescues in the past 12 months as well as activating preventative Driver Reviver sites.
In recent times, VICSES members have also played a vital supporting neighbouring states, with VICSES volunteers, staff and vehicles from across Victoria travelling to Queensland late last year to assist in their major flood event.
“I continue to admire the remarkable and relentless efforts of our SES volunteers and applaud their significant contributions across the state over what has been a particularly busy period,” VICSES acting chief officer operations David Baker said.
