A contingent of St John Ambulance, Busselton and Augusta-Margaret River SES volunteers tackled rough terrain as they took part in a simulation search and rescue exercise in Carbunup on Easter Monday.
Five teams, including two dog search teams, were deployed to locate and extract a missing family and a 50 kilogram dummy, a high-priority casualty named Bob who had sustained a gunshot wound to his abdomen and had no pulse.
Flagging SES tape as they sweeped the remote bushland and communicating with the Incident Control Vehicle, teams were tested on their search capabilities.
St John Ambulance volunteers guided crew, once they had located a casualty, to treat, manage and extract the high-priority casualty successfully.
"It's always good to practice."
- Busselton SES president Wayne Credaro
St John Ambulance volunteers emphasised the importance of having a defibrillator on hand, correctly conducting CPR and working together as a team to battle fatigue and ensure access.
“Don’t underestimate reassurance,” an ambulance volunteer said.
Busselton SES president Wayne Credaro said the skills training was invaluable and gave members an opportunity to hone in navigation, communication and CPR skills.
"A lot of our guys are fairly new so it's a great way for them to interact with the Margaret River crew and come together as a unit," he said.
"It's always good to practice.
"We're also looking at getting our two search dogs fully qualified and incorporating them into searches."
Ivy James
Journalist for Bunbury Mail, Australian Community Media and Fairfax Media
Journalist for Bunbury Mail, Australian Community Media and Fairfax Media
