Community First Responder call for Windellema SES

Eve Langham was inspired to join the State Emergency Service [SES] about four years ago.

"My husband had a bad crash on a motorbike on our farm and the SES and the community first responders were the first on the scene," Ms Langham said.

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"They were able to assist my husband with emergency first aid and to reassure me. They kept me quite calm and then when he was airlifted out they were able to tell me how to get the hospital and to explain what would happen."

Jade Kinder was exposed to life as an SES volunteer as a child.

"Although I've only been in the SES for three years my dad is unit commander at Windellema and has been for many, many years," Ms Kinder said.

"So it's something I've always been around. That's how I came into it, because Dad was unit commander and I was at a point where I was wanting to do more to help."

The term "first responder" is a broad term used to describe most emergency workers. However, an SES Community First Responder is separate to this.

"We're accredited with a Certificate II in emergency first aid, which we gain through training with the NSW Ambulance," Ms Langham said.

The women say Community First Responder [CFR] is the Windellema SES' primary responsibility.

"That's advanced first aid in regional areas where it can take up to an hour for an ambulance to arrive," Ms Kinder said.

"The community first responders are the ones who come in and patch up the bleeding; they pull the person out of the fence and make sure they're safe.

"They're the ones who have advanced first aid where we go into a lot more detail about what first aid responses are," she said.

The volunteers work alongside NSW Ambulance.

"Every month there's training. We have an ambulance teaching us how to work with them; how to load people into the ambulance if that's what's needed; but also how to maintain our own equipment," Ms Kinder said.

That equipment includes an automated external defibrillator [AED], oxygen and certain medications.

"We're taught how to use the equipment and administer the medication responsibly," Ms Kinder said.

Windellema SES currently has about 15 Community First Responders, who are essential to the life and safety of the area's rural residents.

"Road crashes would be the biggest and scariest calls we get," Ms Kinder said.

"There are lots of road crashes around this area. There are probably between one and two of those each year that our teams end up going to.

"However, for the average callout our role is just to be there and to reassure them."

Ms Langham said there was a high percentage of elderly residents who live at Windellema.

"A lot of them are on their own and they get frightened when they have breathing difficulties and things like that," she said.

"They probably don't need any great first aid but they just need reassurance until an ambulance arrives."

When a resident phones 000 they're put through to the service that they need.

"Then that service will have a look at the resources in the area and because we're trained under and allied to NSW Ambulance they'll send a pager or a text through to us," Ms Kinder said.

"It's through the same network; we've had several occasions where we've had multiple agencies all from the one call. If there is a roadside crash then all from the same call you could be talking to ambulance but in the background they've also called the police and fire brigade. We all working together."

The roster is "pretty much 24/7" according to Ms Langham.

"Each week we put down our availability and when we're able to attend," she said.

The SES has an emergency vehicle parked at either end of Windellema to help cut down travel time.

"When they get the call they know which end of Windellema to call and who then is available on the roster," Ms Langham said.

"We're never alone; we always work in pairs so there's two of us to support each other."

Neither of the women had worked in emergency services until they volunteered. However, they say their volunteer work has increased their confidence.

"Once a month we do ambulance training to refresh and keep our skills, so you always feel supported and quite confident," Ms Langham said.

"And if it ever got to the stage where you weren't confident then you just wouldn't do it; you would do something else or the ambulance is always happy to work with you and do extra training."

The women want to make sure people understand that there's a place for everyone within the SES.

"If you try it out and decide that you're not confident to be a CFR that's fine too," Ms Langham said.

"When we joined my husband decided that he didn't want to be a CFR. It just wasn't his thing but he's happy to go out with the SES or go out with the CFR crew because while we might be attending a patient who will need a helicopter he can go out and find a suitable location for a helicopter to land because he knows what he's looking for."

As Ms Kinder points out there is always "something else" to do.

"For example there's some of our team who have been with the SES but put onto deployment out at Broken Hill so they missed a training session. However, ambulance is very keen with training and to work with us and make sure we're all at the same level," Ms Kinder said.

"They'll go and work with one person individually; they'll offer individual catch up sessions so that we're all supported to make sure that we all feel like we're connected."

According to both women the team environment is "one of the best things" about life as an SES volunteer.

"I personally find them a great team to work with and very supportive; there's just a general friendship within the organisation," Ms Langham said.

"It's great to know that help is around the corner for anyone that needs it in the area. We've got a really dedicated crew."

Their message to community members who might be interested in volunteering is to "not be afraid".

"I'm retired now but I worked in an office all of my life. Attending to an emergency situation wasn't anything that I ever thought that I would do but after seeing my husband, and seeing the crew work there together on my husband, I realised it was something I could do," Ms Langham said.

"I've been trained and these days I would be confident to do that; I like to know that I could help other people."

For Ms Kinder it's a great way to build friends and a community network.

"I work at a bank in Goulburn and I also study at university part-time," Ms Kinder said.

"It's a great way to build friends and built local connections. I don't know how many useless bits of fun trivia I've learnt just hanging around the group.

However, it's not just about "having a chat and doing the job".

"It's about being part of a team and having fun with your teammates," Ms Kinder said.

"With the SES we'll do the training and then we'll go and do a map-reading exercise and that's what it's all about. That's what you really get out of it; you get this great mateship."

Her message to anyone considering volunteering is: "It doesn't have to be a 24/7 obligation."

"We're everyday people with lives outside of the SES," Ms Kinder said.

"We want to be able to share that fun part of our lives; the giving back to the community."

Ms Langham agreed that because Windellema SES is stretched for resources one day or one weekend a month is still helpful.

"You don't have to be a CFR; you don't have to be out chopping down trees; there's a place and an opportunity for everybody," she said.

"And age is no difference. Our youngest member is 16 through to our deputy unit commander who just recently celebrated his 90^th birthday."

For information on the NSW State Emergency Service South Eastern Zone please Deb Muddiman on 0448 280 441 or email debra.muddiman1@ses,nsw.gov.au.

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