KEITH Blackman marked a milestone four decades with the State Emergency Service (SES) recently, recognised for an ongoing commitment to be there for those in need.
The Swan Hill local spoke to The Guardian from the Tallangatta base camp, where he and other SES volunteers from the north-west region are doing their part to support firefighting efforts as bushfires continue to burn across the state.
An unprecedented start to this year’s fire season has seen emergency services put their best put forward, with a huge effort from volunteers to support communities under threat.
Mr Blackman is among thousands of volunteers across the country to date, who have signed up to travel to areas under threat.
With 40 years as a volunteer to his name, it’s far from Mr Blackman’s first deployment, though it is one he considered a highlight of his career.
Mr Blackman’s interest in the SES started early, inspired by his parents’ involvement in the organisation.
He told The Guardian while he knew the 40-year certificate of service was coming, it was nice to receive the recognition.
“My dad, especially, was a foundation member of the local civil defence in Swan Hill before it became SES. I used to tag along with him to meetings as a 12-year-old,” Mr Blackman said.
“That part of the service is not recognised, of course, and then I just stayed with them ever since.”
In recent years, Mr Blackman said he traded an operational role, which included road crash rescue, riding flood boats and attending to storm and water damage to a support person.
He also swapped units, moving from Swan Hill SES to the north-west regional support unit.
It’s a move he credits as a high point of his volunteering career, coupled with his current deployment.
“Probably where I am now (is a highlight), I’m at the Tallangatta base camp as a manager,” he said.
“I have done three stints so far this year, the first stint starting on December 2 or 3, and then I had a deployment to set up base camp, I was night manager for a week, so you set it all up and then you go through pulling it all apart again.”
Mr Blackman admitted it could be chaotic to walk into these fire zones, but he enjoyed the challenge and hands-on aspect of it.
“There’s a heck of a lot going on when you first start up, you set up accommodation, toilet facilities, showers, laundry, work out the kitchens, all that has to be done,” he said.
Mr Blackman said he didn’t miss the operational side of things, as he is still very much in the thick of it in his current role.
“I’m still involved in that side of things anyway, I’m still away with ground personnel, we still get involved with the local unit for training sessions, we go out and we train communications with the new radio systems,” he said.
“We do ground support for searches and we’re still involved with all other units.
“We still go out and get our hands dirty.”
Mr Blackman returned to Swan Hill at the weekend, but is already locked into another deployment on January 18 to Swifts Creek.
“The base camp down there is over 300 people, here we have around 150,” he said.
While a brief reprieve from the hot and windy conditions was received early last week, conditions deteriorated again, with volunteer efforts expected to be required for weeks to come.
North-west VICSES operations manager David Goldfinch said 27 volunteers in the region had put their day jobs on hold and deployed to Tallangatta, Mallacoota, and surrounds, clearing roads of debris, helping locals to safely evacuate and to set-up and manage base camps.
The 27 north-west SES volunteers recently deployed were from the Gisborne, Bendigo, Dunolly, Rochester, Kerang, Swan Hill, Castlemaine and Rushworth units.
For Mr Blackman, doing his part to help communities is simply something he can and intends to continue doing for some time to come.
“Absolutely, I’ll keep going, now I’m retired I have more time,” he said, adding he encouraged the community to consider putting their hand up for a volunteer role.
“Absolutely, it is a good thing to give back to the community and you meet lots and lots of interesting people.
“We’ve met some fantastic people here from the ADF (Australian Defence Force), as well as CFA (Country Fire Authority), St John Ambulance and the private contractors, such as Crawford’s Catering, which are feeding about 700 people a day.
“It’s just a very rewarding thing to do, personally, I think. It’s not something you look for recognition for, but it is nice to get.”
