SES volunteer

Kathy Garancsi, a NSW State Emergency Service (SES) volunteer

SES volunteers are on call 24/7, and are like a family

“It could be a tree down on a house or water coming in through the ceiling; we’ve got specialist units that are involved in road crash rescue, so they turn up during car accidents; or you have flood specialists who go out and help people who, sadly, continue to drive through flood waters. Volunteers put their own lives at risk to try to help others, and there’s a special kind of bond within the team – we have to watch each other’s back to make sure that we continue to be safe as well.”

They’re a hugely committed bunch

“The words that I hear a lot are ‘giving back’, and I think there’s a little bit of that in everyone. There are people who are estranged from their families and don’t always get a chance to give back, so I think they volunteer as a way to feel good by giving that time, energy and love.”

You don’t have to be on the ground in emergency situations

“Not everyone wants to go out in the truck and they don’t have to. There are people who are very happy to help in operations and answer calls, organise the logistics or even the community events. We run cadet programs for kids aged 16-18, we go to schools, have a school holiday program, so there’s lots of different avenues for different people.”

The SES plays an essential role in emergency response

“Our role is specifically around storms, floods and tsunamis. Then you have the fire service for bushfires and so on, and then police for land searches. So everyone knows what their role is, then we could potentially come in and support those other agencies.”

There’s a huge amount of training

“We’re asking people to go into very difficult situations sometimes, whether it’s land searches or climbing roofs. We have to make sure they’re fully trained to do that. It’s our duty of care.”