The Albury SES unit is opening its doors for more volunteers to join them.
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The station will host an open day on Saturday from 10am to 2pm, featuring the popular sausage sizzle while those on active service will demonstrate some of their equipment to children and families.
Deputy controller for rescue Shane Walters said the aim of the open day would be to increase awareness of SES membership.
“We want to get the word out to our community about our membership,” he said.
“We are a volunteer-based organisation.”
Deputy controller of operations Tim Archer said volunteers helped save millions of dollars.
“It’s such a significant part of the recovery efforts of any major event.”
Mr Walters said SES leaders would spend more time in the field and in their role compared to ordinary members.
“We have a lot more time involved in what we do in the running of things,” he said.
“Members put in what they can and generally do at least three hours a week as part of regular training.”
Mr Archer said skills of volunteers were varied but knows it’s not a career for most.
“There’s always going to be a balance,” he said.
“There’s a range of people and some can only put in a small amount while others put in huge numbers.”
Mr Archer said some crew found specific areas they would work in more than others.
“As you’re in the service for longer, you can start to specialise more,” he said.
Mr Archer said work took volunteers out into different parts of the state but the primary focus was on the immediate region.
“What we’ve found over the last 12 to 18 months is there has been work in other areas with big storms,” he said.
“At one point we had over half of our active members in the Hunter region.
“It’s just about ticking along with the stuff at home.”
Mr Archer is a six-year member of the SES and said it was a great way to give back to the community.
“I saw it as a great way to be involved,” he said.
“You meet a huge variety of people and learn some fantastic skills.”
Mr Walters said the unit was one big family.
“You rely on your team and you have to trust them,” he said.
“We put lots of effort to ensure that’s something we give back to the members.”
Mr Archer said there was also support for families outside of operations.
“If a member is struggling and we can support them then we’ll do so,” he said.
The address of Albury SES is 1 Hoffmann Road, Thurgoona.
