Last Saturday’s Castlemaine Emergency Expo at Castlemaine’s Camp Reserve was a runaway success, with over 30 organisations on the ground giving information and advice on how best to prepare for an emergency.
It was a family day out, with many children enjoying the chance to enjoy a range of activities on offer – as well as the opportunity to get up close and personal with big trucks and men and women in interesting uniforms.
Experts spoke on a range of issues, including fire safety and preparedness, flood and storm preparation, pet and wildlife emergencies and resilience in the aftermath of a natural disaster.
Castlemaine SES Deputy Controller Daniel Bone, who was a member of the committee that organised the Expo, was disappointed to have missed the first part of the event. He was out at Newbridge, assisting in a flood rescue that eventuated in a rescue using the Ambulance Victoria helicopter.
“Some tourists parked their vehicle late at night at what they decided would be a good camping site on a slope above the river,” he said. “They went to sleep in their rooftop tent, and woke up to find themselves surrounded by water. They were winched off by helicopter, and then we stayed on to help with the recovery of their vehicle. A good lesson that’s worth noting: if they’d had an Emergency Plus app on their phone, we would have had an exact location for them. As it was, it took a little time to find them.”
A volunteer with the SES for four years, Daniel has missed out on a bit of sleep lately. “Last Friday morning I didn’t get to bed until 5am,” Daniel said. “We had five swift water rescue calls. The floods have been keeping us incredibly busy.”
When he finally arrived at the Expo at 1.30pm, Daniel did the rounds of the stallholders and received positive feedback. “There were good crowds, the children had a great time and everyone asked a lot of questions,” he said. “We were more than happy with the day – and so lucky with the weather.”
See all the pictures in the issue.
This article appeared in the Tarrangower Times, 14 October 2022.
