SES Barwon South West Regional Unit

From everyone at the Barwon South West Regional Unit we want to say thank you to all the amazing VICSES Volunteers who support their communities 24 hours a day, seven days a week! 🫶✨🧡

From the BSWRU Unit Management Team we also want to say thank you to our amazing members for always jumping in to support our local units and bringing storm and flood awareness to the community! 👏✨🧡

We are so proud and lucky to support the amazing units throughout the South West region, always learning from them and seeing the impact they make in their communities! 🙌✨🧡

Tomorrow is Wear Orange Wednesday, a national day of thanks for the thousands of VICSES volunteers who serve the Victorian community 24 hours a day, seven days a week through storm, flood, road crash rescue, and much more! 🧡

Here are some of the things you can do to get involved in WOW Day!

🧡 Wear orange on Wednesday 22th of May!
🧡 Donate to your local volunteers now - visit ses.vic.gov.au/donate
🧡 Post a photo or video to social media to say thank you using the hashtag .
🧡 Put up posters in your workplace to celebrate our volunteers.
Get prepared for the risk of storm and flood so you're less likely to need us

On behalf of the Barwon South West Regional Unit we would like to wish all the beautiful mums a happy Mother’s Day!!!

We hope you all have a great day and get spoilt with chocolates and love 🧡

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old;
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them 🌺

~ Lest We Forget ~

Hey everyone

Just a reminder that school is back tomorrow…

Kids will be back at school tomorrow after two weeks of holidays, so that means school speed zones will also be back.

Make sure you slow down when driving around schools to help keep everyone safe.

Remember, if roads outside schools are not permanent 40km/h zones, the speed limit will be reduced at drop-off and pick-up times based on the previous speed limit:
-Limits of less than 80km/h become 40km/h
-Limits of 80 km/h or more become 60km/h.

Always follow the road signs. For more information, visit the VicRoads website: https://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/safety-and-road-rules/road-rules/a-to-z-of-road-rules/school-speed-zones

Hey everyone, Happy Saturday

Just a very friendly reminder that Daylight Saving Time ends tonight!!! 🕰️

Don't forget to turn your clocks back one hour before you snuggle in bed. It's a small adjustment that gives you an extra hour of sleep and brings a cozy vibe to the evening.

Enjoy the extra time to relax and recharge!

From all of us here at the Barwon South West Regional Unit we would love to wish you and your family a very Happy Easter... 🐰

We hope you all eat lots of choccies and travel safely to see your loved ones...

If you're out on the roads, why not stop a one of our Driver Reviver locations for a recharge?

Locations can be found here: driverreviver.com.au/driver-reviversites/

Did you know that today is Neighbour Day? 🏠

We all play a role in keeping our communities safe.

Connecting with your neighbours and local community can mean you are better equipped to face and recover from emergencies and natural disasters. 🧡

Download our interactive conversation card and get chatting to your neighbours here: www.ses.vic.gov.au/news-and-media/campaigns/neighbour-day

🌟 Happy International Women’s Day 🌟

Stay safe tomorrow everyone

UPDATE - this Total Fire Ban declaration has been extended for Central, South West and North Central fire weather districts.

The Total Fire Ban declaration for Tuesday, 13 February 2024 now applies to the Wimmera, Mallee, Northern Country, Central, South West and North Central fire weather districts.

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A Total Fire Ban has been declared for the Wimmera, Mallee and Northern Country Fire Districts tomorrow - 13 February 2024.

No fires can be lit, or be allowed to remain alight, in the open air from 12:01 AM until 11:59 PM.

A Catastrophic Fire Danger Rating has also been declared for the Wimmera District.

https://news.cfa.vic.gov.au/news/catastrophic-fire-danger-for-wimmera-updated

Over the past 2 days we have had 3 of our members who got deployed to Shepparton in Hume Region in Northeast Victoria, to assist with door knocking on 300+ resident's doors.

Unit officers Ash and Sarah along with our Unit Controller Mel got first-hand experience what it was like going around door knocking, having a chat to residents, and learning about what happened in the 2022 floods from residents.

It was amazing to see the community get together and talk amongst themselves and everyone’s supporting each other was just amazing to see.

A special mention to Tracey, who is a VICSES staff member/Volunteer for coming along with us and assisting.

Today we here at the Geelong Race course for the annual Super Saturday at the Coast..

Come down and see the crew we have a kids area, talk about flooding, emergencies and how to prepare..

It’s going to be a great day! Remember come say Hi!!!

We are so proud of Jo putting her hand up to drive fellow VICSES members to the airport so they could go on deployment..

Good luck in QLD

✈️ More Queensland storm response support from Barwon South West ✈️

This afternoon, volunteers from SES Bannockburn Unit, SES Colac Unit, SES Corio Unit and SES South Barwon Unit will be joining Task Force Charlie, the second multi-agency deployment from Victoria to Queensland.

These members will continue with emergency building repair work and clearing of fallen trees and branches to help those affected by the recent storms, replacing the first taskforce of volunteers that returned yesterday.

Thanks to SES Barwon South West Regional Unit for their support getting our members to and from the airport!

Join us in wishing them all the best for their trip up north 👏

Victoria State Emergency Service

From all of us at the SES Barwon South West Regional Unit.

we hope you have a Happy and safe New Year.

Thanks for all your support during 2023. Let’s see what 2024 brings

On behalf of our unit controller and members of the Barwon South West Regional Unit, we would like to wish each and every one of you a very Merry Christmas..

Whatever your plans may be over the Christmas period please stay safe whilst out on the roads..

Just an FYI…

Take care tomorrow

**Update: This warning is no longer current. For the latest information on warnings, stay informed https://emergency.vic.gov.au/respond/ **

ADVICE - THUNDERSTORM ASTHMA - Prepare Now
Incident Location: Central
Issue Date: Tuesday 12 December 2023, 03:30 pm
Next Update: Wednesday 13 December 2023, 09:00 pm

More details at http://emergency.vic.gov.au/respond/ #!/warning/31429/moreinfo

This Advice is being issued for Central weather district, Wednesday 13 December 2023.
- People may experience asthma symptoms or difficulty breathing due to thunderstorm asthma.
- https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/thunderstorm-asthma can be triggered by a combination of high amounts of grass pollen in the air and a certain type of thunderstorm. For people who have asthma or hay fever, this can trigger severe asthma symptoms.

Be aware of an increased chance of experiencing breathing difficulties or an asthma attack. Prepare now - carry your asthma reliever puffer with you at all times today.

Lest we forget ❤️🌹

Did you feel the earthquake?

** This warning has been updated. Latest information: http://emergency.vic.gov.au **

ADVICE - EARTHQUAKE
Incident Location: Apollo Bay
Issue Date: Sunday 22 October 2023, 03:17 am
Next Update: Sunday 22 October 2023, 11:00 am

This Advice message is being issued for Apollo Bay and surrounding areas.

- A 4.7 magnitude earthquake occurred at Apollo Bay at 2.11am 22/10/2023.

Stay safe by avoiding damaged buildings, roadways and bridges, and fallen trees and powerlines.

For earthquake related emergency assistance from the SES phone 132 500.

Only call Triple Zero (000) in a life threatening emergency.

In Victoria we know all too well that natural disasters can affect anyone.

This International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction, we want you to engage, build awareness and take steps to protect yourself and your families.

Reducing vulnerability to disasters requires action. Our website is full of resources to help you plan and prepare for emergencies year-round, check it out here: https://www.ses.vic.gov.au/plan-and-stay-safe 🧡🧡

Today is a day to recognise and celebrate all women in emergencies and disaster resilience

Join us in honouring the incredible women at the Victorian State Emergency Services..

Thank you for all the amazing work you do to support our communities.

On behalf of The unit controller and members of the Barwon South West Regional Unit we would like to send our sincere condolences to the Greater Dandenong Unit on the recent passing of their member David. Our thoughts are with them and their families at this time. 🧡🧡

Members of the Greater Dandenong Unit were devastated this week to learn of the sudden loss of one of our much loved and admired volunteers, David Colgan. David was a highly valued and respected member and the epitome of an SES volunteer. He was one of our most frequent responders to calls for assistance and worked tirelessly behind the scenes in helping to ensure the unit was ready to respond to operational calls.

David was kind, humble, caring and selfless. He was a friend and colleague who patiently and eagerly supported fellow members in building their skills and knowledge. We will miss David’s presence around the unit, but he will be very fondly remembered and we will not forget his invaluable contribution to what the Greater Dandenong Unit is today.

Vale David Colgan.

Are you fire 🔥 ready?

As summer approaches and temperatures heat up, we will start to see an increased number of fires across the state. To help keep you and your family safe, it’s important all Victorians know the Fire Danger Ratings (FDRs).

FDRs are available in Victoria from today onwards. These ratings tell you how dangerous a fire could be if one started.

There are four ratings you need to know – each with clear advice about what you need to do.

Visit https://www.emergency.vic.gov.au/news-and-media/knowing-the-fire-danger-ratings-could-save-your-life to learn more.

Yesterday we got deployed to Enfield to help our partner agency CFA with a grass fire 🔥 our Field Operations Vehicle (FOV3) was deployed to provide communications.

Yesterday was also a great opportunity to show CFA how our mobile command vehicle works and how the FOV functions as an office, our FOV enables VICSES and partner agencies the capability to command all emergencies out in the field.

This National Police Remembrance Day we pay our respects to our Victoria Police colleagues, and our policing colleagues interstate and overseas, who have lost their lives in the line of duty.

At the Victoria Police Memorial, and across the state, we honour the dedicated police officers who have died serving their community.

remember to look after yourselves and those around you. Don’t be afraid to speak up when needed 💛

Today is R U OK Day and this year’s reminder is to let people you care about know you’re here, to really hear them.

We don't always know what people are going through and how they're feeling. It’s important to look beyond the uniform and make asking, ‘are you OK?’ a part of your everyday relationships with friends, family members and colleagues.

Your conversation could change a life 🧡 Learn more at: https://www.ruok.org.au/

Today we are at the Battle of the Barwon Dragon boat race down at the Barwon river.

We are with SES Geelong Unit and SES Bellarine Unit out on the water looking after the crew on the water..

We are doing Radio Comms with the boat crew and community Engagement talking about storm/emergency and flood safe…

We acknowledge the traditional owners of the land we work on being the Wadawurrung people. We along with the rest of the Victoria State Emergency Service are proud supporters of culture and the achievements of our First Nations people and look forward to continuing the journey with them

Over the weekend our Unit Controller Jake and our Section Leader - Training Chris braved the cold and headed up to the State Controllers seminar in Creswick.

A great day hearing from leaders within SES and the sector about the future and some learnings to take back to our unit.