Centurion

I am really thinking about joining the State Emergency Service in QLD.

I have some spare time and want to do something in a volunteer capacity. Is anyone a SES member currently or had a look at it all for helpful tips ?

Obviously, I've read all the blurb and sent off for the application etc, but would be great to have some first hand tales.

The other thing I'd quite like to do is volunteer for the rural fire service. We intend to move to Tamborine soon and seems like an excellent opportunity to do something worthwhile for the community there.

Any thoughts or experiences on that gratefully received.

jond

Can't help you with the QLD SES, but I have been a member of VICSES for 3 years.

I love it and have just got home from our weekly training session, well all the new recruits did the training and I emptied the bins and decided that the kitchen needed a bloody good clean


We are a small unit, although we received about 8 new people since the bushfires. We are already on excess of 400 callouts since the start of the year so it has been pretty busy.


I would recommend anybody to give the SES or CFA a go, you will really be rewarded by helping those who can't help themselves.

John

moneypenny20

Have a word with Cresta57 and Poll.

Pollyana

You called??

Cresta has the RFS info, I do a lot of the admin for the SES and do the reporting on their activations etc.
Not a very glamorous job, you will get calls at all hours, for fixing tarps on roofs, sandbagging, trees down, searches for lost people, its cold, wet and windy at times
BUT - its also very rewarding, they will train you in search techniques, roof climbing, road crash rescue, and loads of other stuff.

Drop me a pm with your location and I'll put you in direct touch with your nearest group, you can go along to a trainng session then and see what goes on
You can get out of it what you put into it; be prepared to work for hours at a time in the storm season, then very little fora few months.

Centurion

As ever - thanks for the info everyone . PM's winging its way as we speak.

MartinLuther

SES is for girls, Fire Service for men. Your choice

Centurion

Both for me. Which makes me a bloke but yet with a sensitive side

jond

How do you work that one out then.

MartinLuther

I used Quantitative Regression Analysis.

Hutch

I was going to join the SES at one point, but I found the attitude of members of the RFS on this forum to be really derogatory towards them. All these jokes about making sandwiches and stuff. And I thought, blimey, if a load of poms in the RFS are like that, imagine what the aussies are like. Put me right off. So I joined the surf lifesavers instead and haven't regretted it for a second.

jond

For some reason or other certain members of the CFA are quite derogatory to the SES.

We get on very well with the CFA units surrounding us, bear in mind that I think the area we cover has 14 CFA units in it. I don't quite understand it as we do completely different things, with the exception of road rescue and our unit doesn't do that anyway. Perhaps they feel threatened the same way that the MFB do with the CFA.

I think that the SES do get a lot more diverse callouts, this week alone we had a car through a house, a forensic search for a murder weapon and the usual trees down etc.

I feel that as long as you enjoy whatever volunteer work you do then there isn't a problem.

jond

Wow, didn't think of using that myself

Deancm

So you're confused?

Centurion

Always.

MartinLuther

Gentle ribbing aside I think it comes down to tribal mentality for some. I don't think it's because they feel threatened by other organisations because it's usually the same people who are derogatory to other groups in their own organisation. Some people are just like that.

Personally I love everyone but that doesn't mean we can't have a bit of banter between groups. Unfortunately you sometimes have to be careful as there's always some peeps who take it too personally.

I'm always glad that on windy days it's the SES that are out there cleaning up the mess.