Sunshine Coast’s orange army have been bolstered with new equipment to help protect local residents.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk helped handover three new State Emergency Service (SES) trailers with Minister for Fire and Emergency Services Craig Crawford in Maroochdore.
The Premier said the new equipment would help the SES respond to emergency events.
“Whether they are responding to calls for help, assisting in bushfire operations or supporting other agencies, SES volunteers play a pivotal role in helping to keep Queenslanders safe,” the Premier said.
“Our volunteers have to be ready to walk into any situation, so it’s important they have the best possible equipment to allow them to do their work.
“The Maleny and Caloundra SES Groups both received a new storm trailer while the Maroochydore SES Group received a new traffic control trailer.
“Our volunteers give up their time to protect the community during disasters, and I am pleased to hand over this new equipment to support their work.”
Minister for Fire and Emergency Services Craig Crawford said storm trailers allow volunteers to transport the equipment they need to respond to storm events including tarps, ropes, ladders and sandbags.
“The storm trailers have already been put to work, responding to the recent severe weather,” Minister Crawford said.
“The Sunshine Coast has received significant rain fall in the past few weeks, creating flash flooding and cutting off roads.
“The new trailers have attended nearly 50 emergency call outs, which shows how busy they are when severe weather hits.
“The traffic control trailer provides support for when volunteers need to do traffic management, which is a regular occurrence for storms or bushfires when roads are blocked.”
Queensland Fire and Emergency Services (QFES) Assistant Commissioner Gary McCormack said SES volunteers showed extraordinary commitment to the community.
“The Sunshine Coast SES Unit has 212 active volunteers across eight groups,” Mr McCormack said.
“These dedicated men and women don’t just turn up to the call for help, they donate their time to training, administration, recruitment and fundraising.
“Between 1 July 2019 and 31 January 2020, they volunteered 3 879 hours in operational response and over 10 175 hours in training, administration, public education, recruitment, fundraising and equipment maintenance.
“They are there to support people through some of the most difficult times and this new equipment will enable them to provide even more support to the Sunshine Coast community.”
