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South West Queensland Floods

dave@ingramtech.com (Webmaster) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 05:14:21 GMT

Western Group members have been assisting with the SES response to floods in SW Queensland. One member was on Task Force Alpha to St George (since returned) and two members are on Task Force Beta to Roma and Mitchell.

Sandbag Depots

webmaster@seswestern.org.au (Site Administrator) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 03:20:34 GMT

Brisbane residents can pick up sandbags from several Brisbane City Council depots. Full details are on the BCC website, but the locations (as at 25 Jan 2012) are listed below. For advice on using sandbags, have a look at "Sandbagging Your Property" on YouTube. This video was made by the Brisbane City Council and the Brisbane State Emergency Service.

Brisbane City Council

Darra Works Depot, Shamrock Street (Map Link)
Morningside Works Depot, 9 Redfern Street (Map Link)
Newmarket SES Depot, 66 Wilston Road (Map Link)
537 Telegraph Road near Lemke Road, Fitzgibbon (Map Link)
Sandgate Tennis Club Car Park, 83 Board Street, Deagon (Map Link)

The Queensland Government Emergency Website lists the following sandbag sites for people outside of Brisbane:

Moreton Bay Regional Council

Redcliffe – 42 Portwood Street
Deception Bay – 24 Old Bay Road
Arana Hills – 2 Pine Hills Road
Petrie – 3 Woonara Drive
Bribie Island – 208-224 First Avenue

Logan City Council

Logan Village council depot/SES shed, Waterford-Tamborine Road

Gold Coast City Council

Southport SES depot, 195 Queens Street

If it is flooded, FORGET IT

Peter Healey runner-up in the 2011 NRMA Insurance Storm Hero Awards

webmaster@seswestern.org.au (Site Administrator) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 00:32:41 GMT

Peter Healey of Western Group has been awarded runner-up in the 2011 NRMA Insurance Storm Hero Awards. This award was recognised with an article in the Westside News. A photo of Peter accepting the award can be found on Facebook. Congratulations Peter!

Reproduced with the kind permission of Westside News

SES volunteers prepare for Summer

webmaster@seswestern.org.au (Site Administrator) — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 06:15:54 GMT

The ABC in Brisbane has a good article explaining the training and preparation that the SES do throughout the year. The reporters visited Western Group and talked to Acting Group Leader Fiona Manning and Deputy Group Leader (Logistics) Peter Healey

The full article can be viewed at the ABC website.

Support

webmaster@seswestern.org.au (Site Administrator) — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 00:38:33 GMT

Support Association

The Support Association of Brisbane SES Western Group Inc. (ABN 63 596 353 920) is the official means of supporting Western Group. The management committee of the Support Association work with the Group Executive of Western Group to determine the resources and equipment that will be supplied to the group. The Support Association can be contacted by email at support@seswestern.org.au.

Community Support

The following people, groups and companies have supported Western Group so we can better help the community. We encourage you to support them.

Companies

Clipsal. Waterproof electrical fittings for emergency lighting.
Flexihostings. Website hosting.
NRMA. Big Shot line launchers.
The Generator Place. Discounted 1 kVA Honda inverter generator.
Reflective Signs and Decals. Reflective signs for SES exercises.
Pepes Mexican Restaurant Jindalee. Food for a catering exercise.
Crazy Clark's Kenmore Village. Melamine crockery and essential operational catering equipment.
Bunnings Warehouse. Catering equipment.

Service Groups

Rotary Club of Kenmore. Big-shot line launchers, trailer mounted water tank and plastic Tuff-A-Boxes.
Rotary Club of Jindalee. 2 kVA Honda inverter generator.

Western Group help Lord Mayor launch storm season

webmaster@seswestern.org.au (Site Administrator) — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 08:03:19 GMT

Members of Western Group helped the Lord Mayor get his Storm Season message out to the public on 30th August, just before thunderstorms rolled over Brisbane.

ABC Student Press Call

dave@ingramtech.com (Webmaster) — Sat, 19 Feb 2011 02:17:05 GMT

Peter Healey answered questions from Grade 7 students at Christ the King School at Graceville for ABC's Student Press Call with Madonna King on the 17th of February.

The audio can be listened to or downloaded from the ABC website.

Western Group flood response covered on ABC

dave@ingramtech.com (Webmaster) — Sat, 19 Feb 2011 02:08:05 GMT

Emma Sykes from the ABC spent a day with Western Group during the clean up from the Brisbane floods. Here article, and a great video showing Western Group members and vehicles is available on the ABC website.

Click here for the article.

TC Yasi Task Force Charlie Returns

dave@ingramtech.com (Webmaster) — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 00:30:14 GMT

Task Force Charlie has returned from Far North Queensland after assisting in the Cardwell and Tully area following TC Yasi. Further deployments are taking place.

Members of TF Charlie made the media a couple of times. Two television reports showed Brisbane Region members helping the community and were largely the only coverage of the SES operation. Click on the photos to see the YouTube video of the coverage.

The Cairns Post also interviewed members and published their comments.

"Orange army arrives to help clean up Far North"

Members of the public in Tully Heads are appreciative of the work that was performed.

"Battered areas come to grips with devastation after cyclone Yasi"

Brisbane SES to assist after TC Yasi

dave@ingramtech.com (Webmaster) — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 04:15:16 GMT

Fifty members from the Brisbane City Unit, including four Western Group members, will fly to North Queensland tomorrow to assist those affected by TC Yasi. Moreton Bay Unit are sending 47 members north and Redland Unit is sending 10 members. Units outside of Queensland are also assisting, with 21 members each from the ACTSES and Tasmanian SES. Sunshine Coast Unit is also assisting, but numbers are yet to be advised.

Media reporting on the assistance can be found at:

ABC Interview with Peter Healey

dave@ingramtech.com (Webmaster) — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 11:48:26 GMT

Group Leader Peter Healey was interviewed by Richard Fidler on ABC Radio about the SES response to the flooding in Brisbane.

Click here to listen to the interview (1.2 MB MP3 File).

Updated information on the Iveco truck

webmaster@seswestern.org.au (Site Administrator) — Sat, 06 Nov 2010 07:38:20 GMT

The webpage describing the Iveco response vehicle has been updated.

The page now includes details of what is carried on-board and clickable images showing the storage areas.

Iveco Response Truck

dave@ingramtech.com (Webmaster) — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 07:29:13 GMT

This page gives general information on the Iveco Daily response truck that was developed by members of Western Group. The radio callsign is "West Mobile 2" and the truck has the nickname "Merlin".

The main specifications of the truck are:

Iveco Daily 50C18 Dual Cab
7 seats
Gross vehicle mass of 4495 kg (car licence)
130 kW/400 Nm engine with six speed manual transmission
Diesel fuel, 100 litre capacity
Height (to top of ladder racks): 2.70 m
Ground clearance: 0.35 m
Width (to outside of mirrors): 2.35 m
Overall length: 6.70 m

Extra equipment permanently mounted to the vehicle includes:

Awning
Additional battery with low voltage disconnect
Queensland SES UHF radio
Brisbane City Council TETRA digital radio
Ladder racks
Halogen spot lights
Four HID floodlights, one on each corner of the rear box
Orange rotating beacon

The Iveco is setup for a variety of roles, with storm response and land search being the two main uses.

Storm Response

Height safety equipment and ropes
Black plastic sheeting & tarpaulins
Tarping cord
Duct tape, Flastac and general purpose tape
Sandbags and plastic bags
Hand tools and long tools (shovels, rakes, brooms)
"Possum Boards" for in-roof repairs
Extendable pole hand saw (Hayauchi)
Chainsaw, pole chainsaw, maintenance kits and PPE for chainsaws.
Extension ladders and step ladder

Land Search

Search kit
EOC forms
Folding table and chairs
Whiteboards
First aid kits
Ferno basket stretcher, pole stretcher and fold-up plastic stretcher

The photos below show the how the equipment is loaded on board the Iveco. Click on the labels to display a photo of the compartment contents.

Western Group assist with sandbag demonstration

dave@ingramtech.com (Webmaster) — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 03:27:11 GMT

Four members from Western Group assisted Brisbane City Council in showing how to use sandbags to divert water from a doorway, and how to protect a doorway. BCC have put a video on YouTube that shows residents how to use sandbags and black plastic sheeting to protect their property from floodwater. Lord Mayor Campbell Newman pitched in to assist.

Group Leader Peter Healey was interviewed on 7 and 9.

Western Group do not have sandbags to give away, but residents of Brisbane can try ringing Brisbane City Council on 3403-8888 for assistance. Sand bags may be available at BCC depots in Brisbane, but there is no guarantee of availability. Sandbags may also be available from hardware or building supply stores.

Group Leader Peter Healey on ABC 'Conversations'

webmaster@seswestern.org.au (Site Administrator) — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 06:58:18 GMT

The Group Leader of Western Group, Peter Healey, was interviewed by Richard Fidler on ABC Radio's "Conversations" programme. The ABC page for the interview can be found here, and the audio of the interview is available to download.

The ABC article summary is:

Peter Healey was 18 years old and not doing very much when his dad showed him an advertisement in the local paper asking for SES volunteers. Peter didn't know much about the SES but he went along to the information night, and was hooked. He's now been an SES volunteer for over 30 years, on call day and night to attend major storms and floods, helping traumatised people who in some cases have lost everything they own. Peter's SES work also includes helping the police with forensic searches. In his downtime Peter has been busy inventing a new response vehicle for the SES - the first is already on the road with seven more to follow.

Further Rain March 2010

operations@seswestern.org.au (DGL Operations) — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 12:44:24 GMT

Western Group have been activated again for storm damage operations on Saturday 6 March, as well as for some damage during the previous week.

Western Group members deployed to Charleville

operations@seswestern.org.au (DGL Operations) — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 12:42:53 GMT

Four members from Western Group have been deployed as part of the South East Queensland contingent helping the recovery effort in Charleville.

The members drove to Charleville on Friday, will assist in the clean-up Saturday to Monday, and then return to Brisbane on Tuesday.

Heavy Rain Storms 16 Feb 2010

operations@seswestern.org.au (DGL Operations) — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 12:46:57 GMT

Further heavy rain hit Brisbane during the morning & afternoon of 16 February 2010. Some of the western suburbs were particularly hard hit, with flash flooding taking vehicles in Milton. Media reports are that the rain is the heaviest to hit inner-Brisbane for ten or so years.

All groups in Brisbane were activated during the afternoon. Western Group put a team of four into the field with the Rodeo and storm trailer, attending a total of four jobs (surface flooding and roof damage) in the afternoon. A further three members operated headquarters.

Thanks to those members that attended and those that were available in the evening if there were a large number of jobs.

Heavy Rain Storms 6&7 Feb 2010

operations@seswestern.org.au (DGL Operations) — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 05:54:16 GMT

Heavy rain fell on Brisbane over the evening of the 6th and 7th of February. Seven members from Western Group took part in the activation; six operated in the field and one worked in the group's Emergency Operations Centre (EOC).

A total of six jobs were assigned to Western Group and members contributed 29 hours to the activation. Many thanks to those that were able to participate, and thanks to those members that were available but not called upon.

How to join the SES

operations@seswestern.org.au (Training Officer) — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 14:00:00 GMT

The State Emergency Service (SES) is a volunteer organisation made up of local people who have volunteered to prepare themselves and their communities in minimise the effects of a disaster. SES encourages self-help and mutual assistance within the community, and is the primary response agency for storm and flood emergencies.

The organisation is open to members from age 16 up (under 18 years old requires parent/guardian permission). There are many tasks that the SES is involved in and there are roles for many members of the community. Membership is split almost 50% between men and women and is spread right across the age spectrum.

Western Group is one of ten groups that collectively form the Brisbane City SES Unit. Our Group is located at Toowong and services the area from Milton to the Centennary suburbs and beyond. The other 9 Groups are based out of the following suburbs: Ascot, Kedron, Newmarket (Unit Headquarters is also here), Salisbury, Moreton Island, Moggill, Richlands and Morningside.

Brisbane City SES Unit have developed a centralised model for recruit training. This means that all new recruits across Brisbane undergo the same Recruit Training Package at the same time. We hold three intakes per year: January/February, May/June, September/October.

The recruitment package is a three step process and involves a series of dates that must be attended in order to become a probationary member. This includes a information evening, two induction sessions at your local group and a recruit training weekend consisting of a Friday night, all day Saturday till late Saturday evening and half day Sunday.

All of these steps are compulsory to progress to the next step, and they provide you with the basic skills and knowledge required to become a Community Member of the Queensland SES. It will be a great opportunity to meet new members from other groups, as well as the experienced members from across the Unit that will be sharing there experience with you as your trainers.

To be eligible for membership you must be prepared to have a police check. New Recruits are also subject to a probation period of three months. There are some restrictions on the activities that probationary members can perform (mainly higher risk ones) but there is still plenty to be involved in once the core training is complete.

There are additional specialist training courses available to members throughout the year, these are run at Group, Unit and Regional levels. The majority of these courses are conducted on weekends - see the training calendar on this site for the types of training available. You are free to specialise in the areas that interest you.

There is a expectation of members to regularly attend training and keep their qualifications current and also to be available for support during activations where possible. Western Group, and all other Brisbane Unit Groups, train every Monday night from 19:00 (7pm).

If you are interested in joining our group - you can register your interest and be placed on the Brisbane Unit waiting list. Please contact the Brisbane City SES Unit Management Team through the Brisbane City Council call centre on 3403 8888

If you live within another area of Brisbane that is not covered by Western Group and you are interested in joining please contact the Brisbane City SES Unit Management Team through the Brisbane City Council call centre on 3403 8888. Your details will be taken and you will be placed on the waiting list to undertake recruit training. You will be contacted by a member of the Brisbane City SES Unit Management Team within a few weeks, usually via email with some more information about becoming a SES Volunteer in Brisbane. Once there is a spot on a intake available, you will be contacted by phone to verify your availability and book you in.

If you live outside of the Brisbane Area and want to join your local SES Group - you can log your interest via the Emergency Management Queensland's website at http://www.emergency.qld.gov.au/ses.

Exercise Real World

operations@seswestern.org.au (DGL Operations) — Wed, 13 May 2009 09:43:47 GMT

Brisbane Unit held an exercise at QUT Kelvin Grove on Saturday 9 May. Members from many groups participated in the exercise, which was a collapsed building due to an earthquake. Many casualties were trapped inside and the SES members were required to safely extract them from the building and to provide first aid treatment. The Queensland Fire & Rescue Service, Red Cross and Salvation Army participated too and it was great to see multi-agency participation in the event.

A photo gallery has been started with photos from the exercise. This can be found under Training on the group gallery, or you can use this link to go directly to the gallery.

Rescue of Bushwalkers 25 Apr 2009

operations@seswestern.org.au (DGL Operations) — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 01:42:24 GMT

Western Group and Northern Group assisted the Queensland Police Service in rescuing a family of bushwalkers from Brisbane Forest Park late on Saturday night.

The group of four, two adults and two children lost the trail to exit the park and called police around 6.30pm. The family was located safe and well around 11.30pm Saturday evening.

Ongoing Storm Repairs

operations@seswestern.org.au (DGL Operations) — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 01:45:07 GMT

Western Group members have put in a stellar effort with ongoing emergency repairs to storm damaged properties. Even though it is almost two weeks since the initial storm, reports are still coming in from people that have recently returned home or are only now able to report their damage.

Things are winding back with most repairs taking place in the evenings. It is very pleasing to see members prepared to put so many hours into the repair effort, especially after such a long activation.

Floods 20 Nov 08

operations@seswestern.org.au (DGL Operations) — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 01:39:14 GMT

Following on from the severe thunderstorms on Sunday the 16th of November, very heavy rain fell over Brisbane and Ipswich on the night of 19 November through into the morning of the 20th. This caused flooding of creeks and rivers around the area and caused further damage to houses that were storm damaged.

Western's Group Leader (Peter Healey) was involved in a flood boat rescue of people and their pets (more photos in the gallery).

Severe Storms 16 Nov 08

operations@seswestern.org.au (DGL Operations) — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 01:36:01 GMT

Western Group was put on standby at 1630 and activated at approximately 1800 to respond to the severe thunderstorms that hit the western suburbs of Brisbane. Two teams were deployed: one to the Ferny Grove area and the other to Brookfield and Pullenvale.

Teams were deployed for the days following to effect repairs to damaged houses.

Banner and Marquee Design

webmaster@seswestern.org.au (Site Administrator) — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 10:21:38 GMT

Here are the draft designs for the marquee and the printed banner. These are the result of some fairly intensive discussion after training on Monday night.

Some minor adjustments for colour and wording have been added.

Western_Group_Banner_Horiz_text_1-10 (101.87 kB 2008-04-25 01:59:48)

Western_Group_Marquee_(Plain)_1-10 (1.61 MB 2008-04-25 02:02:08)

New Photo Gallery

webmaster@seswestern.org.au (Site Administrator) — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 11:30:02 GMT

A photo gallery is now available for the Group. The URL is http://photos.seswestern.org.au/ and there is a link on the main menu. Please contact David for a password to upload photos (but try the username & password that you use for this site first).

Flood Boat Training

webmaster@seswestern.org.au (Site Administrator) — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 10:35:30 GMT

David, Pascal & Paul recently completed training as Flood Boat Operators. Photos from the course are available on the photo gallery, which was conducted at Cleveland (Redland SES Unit).

Care of Icom IC-F60 Handhelds

webmaster@seswestern.org.au (Site Administrator) — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 23:48:07 GMT

Don't charge for more than 10 hr

Keep clean

They are waterproof to 1 m, but dry them before charging

Don't bend the aerial

Check regularly

Download guidesheet:

Welcome

webmaster@seswestern.org.au (Site Administrator) — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 12:50:28 GMT

Welcome to the new website of Western Group (Brisbane City Unit). We are part of the Queensland State Emergency Service (SES) and this site is intended to provide information about our activities and roles to the public, as well as hosting information that is useful for our members. If members have comments about this site, please contact a member of the group executive during regular training on Monday nights. If you would like to get in touch with Western Group, please use the Contact Page.

If you require SES assistance for a Storm or Flood Emergency, please call the SES on 132-500.
For life threatening emergencies call 000 from a fixed line or 112 from a mobile phone.

Stessl Floodboat

webmaster@seswestern.org.au (Site Administrator) — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 12:49:16 GMT

Checklists used for the Stessl boat (11337QD) are available here.

Rodeo

webmaster@seswestern.org.au (Site Administrator) — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 12:47:37 GMT

Info and photos of the Rodeo, what is included.

Emergency Contact

webmaster@seswestern.org.au (Site Administrator) — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 12:43:07 GMT

Call 000 for all life threatening emergencies.

For Flood or Storms, call 132 500

History of Western Group

webmaster@seswestern.org.au (Site Administrator) — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 12:41:21 GMT

Background on Echo Group

Previous locations of the group.

Some historical photos.

History of SES in Queensland

webmaster@seswestern.org.au (Site Administrator) — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 12:40:23 GMT

Blurb about Civil Defence, SES etc. Nice and general info to give some background.

Perhaps some pictures of blue overalls etc.