VICSES Rutherglen’s youngest members Chloe Trevaskis and Shaylee Walsh are proud to represent and serve their community. This week marks National Volunteer Week, celebrating the remarkable difference volunteers make in the local community.
In the world of emergency services, experience and age often go hand in hand. But for the Rutherglen SES unit, youth is proving to be a valuable asset.
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Shaylee Walsh and Chloe Trevaskis are being celebrated for their exceptional work as volunteers during National Volunteer Week. At 22 and 17 years old respectively, these two dynamic young women bring a fresh perspective and energy to the unit.
Shay joined the Rutherglen unit in March last year, and recently became a member of the Wangaratta unit where she lives.
“I love the camaraderie of our unit. Being a part of this team is pretty great. We are like a big family in a way,” she said.
“We all support each other, work together towards our goals, and have each other’s backs no matter what. I have learnt so much since joining.”
Shay has attended a number of incidents including general rescue, storm response, road accidents, flood response, and community engagement days.
“I am crew member level 1, working towards level 2- so I can attend things like a tree down where I can help move branches, but can’t operate a chainsaw,” she said.
“I’m hoping to be complete my crew 2 training in June, which will allow me to do a bit more. There are also specialist training roles such as road crash rescue, search and rescue that are available for all members. It’s a very diverse organisation to be part of.”
Meanwhile Chloe, who attends Galen Catholic College in Wangaratta, joined the unit recently following in the footsteps of her father Darren Trevaskis.
“We are a very community minded family, so I wanted to do my part and help out as well.,” Chloe said.
Rutherglen’s youngest VICSES volunteers Chloe Trevaskis (17) and Shaylee Walsh (22) both enjoy doing their bit for the community.
“Our unit is great because we have a really inclusive and supportive team. We are also really engaged with the community, and it’s nice to know we are making a positive impact.”
According to Chloe, the skills she has learnt in her short time with SES are invaluable.
“The skills you learn here, like problem solving, can be applied to the outside world in whatever career you’re in,” she said.
“When I finish school, I want to study something in the area of sports. While not much of SES is sporting, there’s certain aspects that can help you in life. I enjoy it a lot.”
For both young women, their work with the SES is something they take special pride in knowing they can make a contribution to their community and ultimately save lives.
Leading the VICSES Rutherglen Unit during the October floods was Irene Cracknell OAM, who got involved with the unit not long after it was formed in 1979.
Irene joined as the first female volunteer in 1982 and initially assisted with administration before training in abseiling and high-angle rescue.
She has been the Unit Controller twice, rising to the position for the first time 30 years ago. The unit today has around ten active members who are always on call. As well as being a road crash rescue unit, the VICSES volunteers were extremely busy during the flood event. They responded to 64 calls for help from the community during October and November of last year, including 38 calls for flood-related incidents.
Rutherglen SES worked alongside local CFA brigades throughout the flood event to prepare the town for flooding by filling and laying sandbags to protect residential property and vital infrastructure.
To acknowledge the invaluable contribution and commitment made by SES volunteers like Shay, Chloe and Irene, the public is encouraged to participate in Wear Orange Wednesday (WOW) on May 17- a national day of thanks dedicated to SES volunteers across the country.
The past three years have been three of the busiest in VICSES history, following three consecutive La Nina seasons which brought severe storms and major flooding in the state.
VICSES volunteers responded to 13,700 Requests for Assistance in October 2022, their busiest calendar month on record.
While SES volunteers are well known for their response during flood and storm emergencies, volunteers also respond to over 1600 ‘Assist Police’ jobs every year including assistance at searches for missing people, searches for evidence at crime scenes, as well as scene preservation and assistance with lighting towers and marquees.
In addition, volunteers respond to an average of just over 1,300 road crash rescues each year and are highly trained to meet national standards with regular capability assessments to ensure they continue to meet those standards.
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