The Dubbo Photo News page dedicated to the hard work of our emergency services personnel. Protecting the protectors
THERE have been some very disturbing reports recently about driver behaviour at the roadworks out on Gilgandra Road, where the recent fatal truck crash occurred.
People need to understand that at roadworks, with road crews walking around unprotected, motorists need to slow down.
At many crash sites I’ve been at over the years, I’ve seen drivers behave like idiots. At the Orana Mall roundabout, I once saw a driver weave her way past a frantically signalling police officer, nearly knocking him over before dodging a paramedic toolbox filled with life-saving products – all this with ambulances, police cars, Rescue Squad trucks and fire engines covering the scene with flashing lights.
It looks like volunteers from all over the place are going to band together to get the state government to enact new rules to crack down on drivers at emergency scenes such as road crashes. It really needs to be at all sites where personnel are vulnerable on or near the roadway.
Driver training:
Volunteers from Dubbo South Rotary Club, Barry Hildebrandt, Sandy Dunshea and Mark Powderly. PHOTO: SUPPLIED. electricity “kiosk” in west which caught fire, the burnt wiring causing a power outage around the Baird Drive/clews Street area.
When they’re not fighting fires, it’s not a matter of loafing around, with three days this past week devoted to an intensive HAZMAT training course.
So many things these days contain hazardous materials, be it houses, vehicles or anything else that can catch on fire, so firies have to know what they’re doing – to ensure their own safety in a toxic emergency environment, and to protect the general community.
It’s great to see these sorts of courses run in regional areas such as Dubbo, so we don’t lose emergency workers and have the added cost of running people to Sydney for all training.