National recognition for life-saving emergency services volunteers

Since July 1 last year, emergency services volunteers have responded to nearly 9,000 incidents across WA including bushfires, storms, floods, structure fires, HAZMAT, land and sea searches and road crash rescues.

Under this year’s theme ‘Making a World of Difference,’ the national recognition celebrates people from all walks of life and backgrounds who give up their own valuable time to assist during emergency incidents.

In WA, 95 percent of emergency services personnel are volunteers.

Fire and Emergency Services Commissioner Darren Klemm AFSM, said volunteers were ordinary people committed to their communities, who sometimes did extraordinary things to keep people safe.

“Volunteers drop everything to assist people whose lives are in danger,” Commissioner Klemm said.

"This ranges from saving people’s homes from fire, extracting people from vehicle crashes or searching for people lost for days out at sea or in dense bushland.

“They are people - young and old - who are committed to undertaking the necessary training to assist during emergencies.

“Without volunteers, emergency services would be severely stretched, and it would take hours for help to arrive to incidents in regional WA – we rely on each and every one of them to keep our communities safe.”

The Department of Fire and Emergency Services coordinates over 26,000 volunteers from the Volunteer Fire and Emergency Service; the Volunteer Fire and Rescue Service; the

State Emergency Service and the Volunteer Marine Rescue Services with support provided to Local Government Bush Fire Brigades.

For more information about becoming an emergency services volunteer visit www.dfes.wa.gov.au/volunteers or call your local brigade, group or unit.

Media Contact: DFES Media and Corporate Communications 9395 9543.​