By Olivia Condous
A Bacchus Marsh local lent a helping hand to those doing it tough in New South Wales after the most recent severe floods.
The Victorian State Emergency Service (VICSES) sent a task force of 16 volunteers interstate to Gosford for five days from July 7, to support local NSW SES crews with the flood and storm response.
The crew included several volunteers from western Victoria, including David Lambrick from the Bacchus Marsh SES unit.
Mr Lambrick, who has spent 35 years volunteering for VIC SES, said going to help out in NSW was the “obvious” option.
He said he’s kept volunteering for so many years simply because he enjoys helping others.
“I just decided to do something to give back to the community,” Mr Lambrick said.
He witnessed many frustrated flood affected residents who were still struggling with recovery efforts from the previous flooding event earlier this year.
“For some of them, this is the third time this year and they’re at their wits end,
“But they were very resilient.”
Mr Lambrick started volunteering around the time of the Ash Wednesday bushfires and he has never looked back.
He said one of his favourite parts of the work was sharing his skills with other volunteers.
“Volunteers come from all walks of life, we had IT people, nurses, truck drivers,” Mr Lambrick said.
He encouraged those who were considering volunteering for SES to try it out.
“Go and try it, there’s no point just thinking about it, go and volunteer,” he said.
