WHILE summer may seem a long time away, volunteers from St John Ambulance are already honing their skills ahead of the bushfire season.
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About 12 St John members took part in a mock fire scenario in South Albury as part of a two-day training course last week.
Assistant state emergency management officer Ben Scott said the incident was treated like a real-life situation.
“The most common emergency we’d respond to is bushfires,” he said.
“A classic example is when we deployed a team to the bushfires at the Blue Mountains.
“The volunteers go through the motions of triage, patient assessment and the access of ambulances to the location.
“It’s about putting more junior members in the command positions so they can get a better idea of what to expect if they get deployed.”
St John would typically treat firefighters, emergency personnel and members of the public in a major emergency.
Spokeswoman Helen Chant said the organisation was always seeking new volunteers.
“There’s a great demand on our service,” she said.
“Anyone who feels they’d be able to assist, we provide the training and we’d like them to provide the enthusiasm.
“The more members we have, the more we can provide the capability.”