Rod Fraser and Paul Granvillani are two of about 5000 Victoria State Emergency Service (SES) volunteers on the emergency response frontline around Australia.
The pair lend a hand wherever it’s needed and have just returned from deployment in New South Wales where they joined about 290 other VIC SES volunteers helping clean up after record storm and flood events that stretched from Sydney to the Queensland border.
Their expertise in storm and flood response came to the fore, as well as their more specialised skills as advanced chainsaw operators.
It was Mr Granvillani’s second time on deployment; he also supported crews during storms in Swan Hill four years ago.
Mr Granvillani has been with the SES since he was 18, joining six years ago with his brother and a mate.
He said mateship among the crews was the best part of volunteering, and he encouraged others to give it a go.
And with National Volunteer Week winding up (May 11-17) both men agreed there is no better time for people to sign up.
Mr Fraser first joined the SES as a volunteer four years ago because he wanted to help people.
“It gives me a lot of fulfilment, the fact that I can be out there helping people and making a difference,” he said.
He said the team is now like his family.
To learn more about volunteering with the SES, go online at www.ses.vic.gov.au or call 1300 VICSES (1300 842 737).
There are many other volunteering positions available in your community. Check with the council for further details.
