Interest in new fire and rescue service

Gunbalanya community members taking part in a Road Crash Rescue demonstration recently.

Gunbalanya community members have expressed an interest in providing an emergency fire and rescue response service for their region, after attending a road crash rescue demonstration on Wednesday, August 17.
The new emergency fire and rescue response service will extend east from the East Alligator River to meet up with the Maningrida NT Emergency Service response unit and north up into Cobourg area.
During the road crash rescue demonstration, attendees were introduced to hydraulic extrication equipment commonly used by the NT Fire and Rescue Service in road crash incidents.
Equipment such as the Jaws of Life and hydraulic cutters were used and attendees received hands-on experience in dismantling a vehicle in a controlled environment with the guidance of three Jabiru NT Fire and Rescue Service auxiliaries and volunteers.
The equipment was demonstrated by Auxiliary Captain Morris, Auxiliary Fire Fighter Katrina Bangay and volunteer fire fighter Jamie Seibert who are all familiar with road crash rescue operations, including training scenarios and real life rescue incidents.
Acting Station Officer Mike Martin of Jabiru Fire Station, NTFRS, congratulated attendees on their enthusiasm and willingness to get in and show an interest in providing this important service to their community.
Mike also thanked Chrissie Nichols for driving this event and encouraging members and Gunbalanya police for their assistance.