SES ‘tooled’ for floods
OUR State Emergency Service crews will be better prepared to respond to bushfires, floods and storms after they received a swag of new gear yesterday.
Energy Queensland gave Southwest SES crews $15,000 worth of battery-powered chainsaws, fridges, blankets and training dummies.
The money came from
Energy Queensland’s annual SES donation of $200,000.
The Lockyer Valley Regional Council also donated a mobile command trailer decked out with flat-screen televisions, computers and communications equipment.
SES southwest regional manager David Bennett said the gear would be a great help to volunteers.
“The command post is an excellent asset,” he said.
The gear arrived as SES crews prepared for extensive operations in response to flooding in Southwest Queensland.
St George remains the area of focus with floodwaters expected to peak last night and into this morning.
“There has been a bit of crazy weather lately,” Mr Bennett said.
“We went from supporting rural firefighters to dealing with storm season.”
The SES crews in St George worked with Ergon Energy to periodically cut power to homes in the flood path.
Two SES swift water rescue teams are on standby.
The latest round of emergency services equipment will be followed by $3.1 million in new gear for the Queensland Rural Fire Service.
Fire and Emergency Services
Minister Craig Crawford said the money would be spent in the coming months.
“We will look at the needs of the people on the ground,” he said.
“We want to invest that money in what those brigades would not ordinarily have access to.
“It could be for electronic tablets, like iPads, so crews could get live weather and mapping updates.”
michael.nolan@thechronicle.com.au