By JONATHON HOWARD
NOOSA’S emergency service crews were put to the ultimate test at Teewah recently – and they passed with flying colours.
The emergency crews responded to a simulated beach crash involving a four-wheel-drive, which had collided with a mini bus carrying tourists.
A total of 14 people required immediate evacuation and crews were required to work together to achieve the fastest and safest response times.
The exercise involved Noosa Police, Fire and Rescue, Ambulance, State Emergency Services and the Westpac Rescue Helicopter.
The accident was so real that several beach goers stopped to offer their assistance during the hypothetical emergency.
Noosa Fire and Rescue Area Commander Rob Fray hailed the operation a complete success and said the test proved the region was ready to deal with major incidents.
“The beaches, particularly around Teewah, are extremely busy and this was a very real scenario for emergency crews,” he said.
“I’d like to praise the efforts of all those involved and give a special thank you to those 14 cadets who volunteered as simulated victims at the scene.”
Mr Fray said fire crews also tested new light weight jaws-of-life and deploying fire-fighters from helicopters.
“Through this exercise we’ve been able to test our interoperability with other emergency response crews and strive towards operational excellence,” he said.
Noosa Heads Officer in Charge Senior Sergeant, Steve McReight, also praised the efforts of all emergency service crews and said it was great for the community.
“It took about 20 to 30 minutes for emergency services to respond,” Snr Sgt McReight said.
“The exercise was great training, very challenging and interesting for young officers to see all of the emergency service crews working together.”
Snr Sgt McReight said the police role during an emergency situation was to cordon off the area and, once under control, start investigating the incident.
