Community
21 May, 2025
Wear orange for SES
TODAY marks an opportunity to show increased appreciation for Victorian State Emergency Services (VICSES) volunteers as they celebrate Wear Orange Wednesday (WOW), a national day of thanks held during National Volunteer Week.
VICSES are also celebrating their 50th anniversary, making this year’s WOW extra special for the dedicated volunteers in the SES providing invaluable contributions to communities across the country.
In Cobden, SES unit deputy controller Sue Sartori said the team had done a variety of callouts this year, usually involving road crashes and trees on the road.
“We’ve had 30 callouts this year so far, three of which have been fatalities,” she said.
“Some of them are road crashes, or we’ve taken trees off the road, or there is storm damage to buildings.
“We also assist other units if they need extra hands if they’re down on volunteers and haven’t got enough people to put on the truck.
“We can do searches, such as when residents go missing from nursing homes, and others when we’re searching bushland because there’s suspicion a vehicle has gone off the road or somebody’s gone missing in that area.
“The police may call us in to look for evidence.”
Controller Matt Robertson said there can be more to the SES than people may think, because even though they mostly attend road crashes and storm damage, anything can happen.
“We had to get a cow out of a bog earlier this year,” he said.
“A couple of our guys went to a Portland search over the summer, when an elderly woman was missing.”
Winter is usually the unit’s busiest time of year, due to the ground getting wet and loosening the roots of trees, which results in them falling during storms.
“The wind picks up and because the air is so dry and the trees are under stress, they just fall, and branches drop off,” Mr Robertson said.
However, they’re unsure of what is in store for the winter ahead due to the recent dry conditions.
Mr Robertson said he is prepared as he has been with the SES for six years now – which isn’t the only volunteer service he is a part of.
“I joined to learn some new skills, and I was always pretty heavily involved with community stuff,” he said.
“I’m part of the Country Fire Authority (CFA) as well, and there are a few of us in the SES that wear the dual hats.
“It can get interesting sometimes when the pager goes off and I’m trying to work out which is which or which I’ll go to if both get called.
“If the pager gets called and it’s for both, I generally always turn out for the SES, just because there’s more numbers at the CFA than what there is here.
“If it’s a road crash, it’s probably something I’m more interested in being able to assist with than standing there with a hose, in case something happens to someone, because in the CFA, if you have a charged hose, a situation involving a fire can readily be seen to.”
Mr Robertson said if anyone was interested in putting their hand up to join the SES, they shouldn’t be swayed by the male-dominated presence.
“We’re predominantly male-based members, but we take anyone,” he said.
“New members coming on shouldn’t be worried or thinking about it being just a male-dominated thing.
“It probably is to some degree, but it’s for both genders too.
“There’s a lot of guys who have come on board who have got no experience whatsoever and everything you need to learn gets taught.
“This SES unit is like an extended family, which you probably lose a bit in those bigger units – out here we’re pretty small and tight-knit.”
Cobden SES are currently training some new members who will be able to help share the load across the small unit once their training is completed.
All members of the Cobden SES unit thanked the community for their ongoing appreciation and support.
Anyone interested in volunteering can submit an enquiry on the VICSES website https://www.ses.vic.gov.au/join-us/volunteer and donations can be made to the unit directly or by calling 1300 842 737.
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