WOLLONGONG CITY STATE EMERGENCY SERVICE

ANNUAL REPORT 2004-2005

Introduction

I am pleased to report to Council and other interested parties on the happenings of this Unit within the Financial Year 2004-2005. This year we put in over 6,000 hours of effort in responding to almost 800 requests for assistance from the community, in a year where hardly a week went by without some form of response from our members. It seems that the continued growth of the profile of our organisation in general, as well as that of our local Unit, has meant that we are seeing more and more work each year.

While the bulk of our work has been in our core role of storm and flood response, we have provided assistance in a wide variety of incidents including search and rescue of missing persons, making safe buildings damaged by vehicles and assisting with the rescue of animals. On top of this our members also put in a significant amount of time in providing the community with information and safety advice through displays, school visits, speaking at local community functions and the ever-present fund raising to support the work that we do.

I am very proud to be the Local Controller of this Unit as the level of teamwork and cooperation makes this Unit a great Unit to work in for all members. I would like to thank City Council for their continuing support to our Unit and I commend the volunteers and their families for once again providing outstanding service to the Community.

Graham Reiher Local Controller

About the State Emergency Service

Introduction The State Emergency Service is an emergency and rescue service dedicated to assisting the community. It is made up almost entirely of volunteers, with more than 232 Units comprising 11,000 volunteers located throughout .

While our major responsibilities are for flood and storm operations, the SES also provides the majority of general rescue effort in the rural parts of the state. This includes road accident rescue, vertical rescue, bush search and rescue and other forms of specialist rescue that may be required due to local threats. The Service's trained rescuers also support the full-time emergency services during major disasters.

Guarantee of Our mission is to provide immediate assistance to the community in times of Service natural or technological incidents or emergencies. Flood and storm threats are the most costly natural hazards the community of New South Wales faces. In response to this, the SES:

• Prepares flood plans for communities at risk. • Assists the Bureau of Meteorology in developing and disseminating official flood and storm warnings. • Translates official flood warnings into likely effects and disseminates that information. • Evacuates people whose properties are threatened or made uninhabitable due to floods or storms. • Rescues people who are endangered, trapped or injured by floods or storms. • Resupplies communities and individuals who are isolated due to flooding. • Minimises damage to properties affected by floods or storms. • Coordinates immediate welfare requirements for affected communities, in conjunction with the Department of Community Services. • Undertakes public education to ensure that those at risk know what they should do to protect themselves and their property.

The SES also provides rescue services and supports other agencies:

• Units accredited for general rescue respond according to established policy. • Units maintain a disaster rescue capability. • Units also assist, at their request, the Police Service, the NSW Fire Brigades, the Rural Fire Service and the Ambulance Service in dealing with any incident or emergency.

About the Wollongong City SES Unit

Our Local The Wollongong City Unit comprises around 100 members (as at June 2005) Unit who provide immediate assistance to the , which extends from Waterfall in the north to Yallah in the south and is home to around 190,000 people. Our volunteers are available to respond 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The Unit is well respected for its participation, performance and achievement in various activities and competitions.

Our Unit is one of the largest Units in the State, and also one of busiest, based on the volume and variety of work we perform. This diversity is due to the unique geography of our area and the good working relationship we have with the other local emergency services, who call on us to support them in many different situations.

Membership At the end of June 2005 the Unit had 95 active members; an additional 6 were undergoing induction training. This figure has been fairly stable over the past 12 months and we have had to limit the intake of new members due to a lack of space, equipment and trainers to handle more than around 100 members. Unfortunately this has resulted in the situation where we have a waiting list of around 40 people waiting to join the Unit.

Our members, who are all volunteers, come from all walks of life and range in age from students doing their HSC through to retired people. We have a fairly even gender balance.

Our skills and One of the strengths of our Unit is the broad range of skills we possess. Our training nationally recognised training means that our members can be called upon to cut up fallen trees during a wind storm, secure a tarp on a leaking roof during heavy rain, assist with evacuations during bushfires, search for missing bushwalkers, assist with first aid and casualty handling during a major incident and provide assistance for things like road closures for large community events.

All these things could occur within a few months. This is one of the reasons that our members enjoy the work that they do and why our organisation is regarded as the “Swiss army knife” of emergency services.

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About the Wollongong City SES Unit, Continued

Unit Structure The Unit is structured into three self-contained response teams of around 25 to 30 members, supported by a dozen management and functional area positions. At any time two of the three teams are rostered on-call each week to provide immediate response 24 hours a day. During larger or protracted operations the third team will be called into action. If an event exceeds the Unit’s resources, we can call on other SES Units and other emergency services for assistance.

Our current organisation chart appears below.

Operations Report

Introduction For the period ending June 30, 2005 the Wollongong City Unit responded to 786 requests for assistance from the community and other emergency service organisations. These tasks involved the members of the Unit putting in 6,171 hours of service.

The graphs below provide a summary of the Unit’s operational activities for the year. Note that the hours listed are those for our Unit and do not include those from other Units or agencies that have assisted during large events.

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Operations Report, Continued

Major July: Strong wind and rain saw the Unit respond to 24 requests for Operations assistance.

October: Heavy rain across the State resulted in the Unit attending 24 tasks on 21st October. A few days later, on 27th October gale-force winds hit the region resulting in 349 requests for assistance. Additional SES crews from Sydney and the Southern Highlands were brought in to assist with the operation.

February: A storm front brought heavy rain to the region, resulting in 15 requests for assistance on 20th February.

March: On 22nd March an east-coast low-pressure system generated heavy rain and strong winds across the . The Unit attended 18 tasks.

April: The Unit sent two teams to Ulladulla to assist with temporary repairs following a severe hailstorm that hit the town on 28th April.

June: On the last day of the month a strong low-pressure system off the northern NSW coast brought heavy rain to most of the coastal area. Our Unit received 124 requests for assistance over a two-day period.

Training Report

Introduction The size of our Unit together with the variety of work that we are called on to perform means that training is a major component of SES life. Our members put in a significant amount of time and effort to ensure that their skills are of the highest standard.

We train every Monday night for two and a half hours at our Headquarters. Most training is done within our response teams, with one or two specialist courses being run concurrently for members of all the teams. On the last Monday in the month we alternate between running a combined training night, at which we usually have a guest presenter, and a whole-Unit exercise or simulation that may involve other emergency service agencies such as NSWFB, Police etc. In addition to this we also run a number of weekend training events such as structured courses or exercises.

Internal Our training can be divided into two main areas. Training 1. Role-Based Training The bulk of our training is for our primary role of flood and storm response, along with training for search operations. This includes the following courses: • General Rescue • Storm and Water-Damage Operations • First Aid • Communication Equipment Operation • Working in an Operations Centre • Map Reading and Navigation • Land Search Operations • Chainsaw Operation • Flood Rescue Boat Operations 2. Specialist Training Once members have met the requirements to fulfill our primary roles they are able to participate in more specialised training such as: • Four Wheel Drive vehicle operation • Vertical Rescue • Emergency Management • Air Observer

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Training Report, Continued

Inter-Agency During the 2004-2005 period the Unit has further facilitated the development Training of inter-agency exercises and training sessions to practice emergency response and to develop better working relationships with other local emergency service agencies. This program was developed to better enforce the local emergency management arrangements within the Illawarra and to provide better preparedness and response, not only for our Unit, but also the other agencies involved.

The Unit writes, coordinates and undertakes a major response exercise at the end of each month to exercise as many aspects of emergency response procedures as possible and to maintain competency in all skills. Some exercises involve the other agencies in scenarios that simulate real responses when the SES and the other agency would be required to work alongside each other.

These exercises and training activities develop a better understanding of response capabilities, operational boundaries and management structures.

Agencies involved in exercises or training to date: NSW Fire Brigades –Urban Search And Rescue Capabilities (USAR) Wollongong Hospital Disaster Response Team Rural Fire Service

Additional agencies to be involved in training during 2005-2006: NSW Ambulance Service

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Training Report, Continued

Brief Below is a brief list of the training courses we run within the Unit. These Overview of courses are all competency-based and nationally recognized. The Unit has SES Courses qualified Trainers who are endorsed to deliver this training as part of the organisation’s VETAB accreditation.

Induction This course is the introduction to the organisation and is completed by members as part of their probation process. Operate Communications Equipment Covers the operation of our phone, paging and radio communications systems. First Aid The SES has it’s own WorkCover accredited First Aid course which is compulsory for all field members to undertake. Storm and Water Damage Covers the skills and techniques to effect repairs to properties damaged during storm and flood incidents. General Rescue An extensive course covering all manner of rescue techniques such as hazard analysis, basic firefighting, casualty handling, rescue from heights and depths, lifting, stablising, and shoring. Chainsaw Operations Covers the safe use of chainsaws in dealing with tree damage during storm incidents. Map Reading and Navigation This course offers all skills required to navigate in an urban and rural environment. Land Search Techniques Deals with techniques for searching for missing persons or physical evidence in the case of crime scene. Flood Rescue Boat Operations Covers the operations of our Flood Rescue Boats in the evacuation and rescue of people trapped by flood waters.

Vertical Rescue Covers technical rescue from heights and depths techniques and rope access skills for use in bushland and industrial settings.

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Training Report, Continued

Current The table below lists the number of members we have who are qualified in Training each of our various training courses at the end of June 2005. Qualifications

Skill Members Qualified Induction 94 Operate Communications Equipment 66 First Aid 89 General Rescue 41 Storm and Water Damage 65 Chainsaw Operation 32 Flood Rescue Boat Operations 19 Map Reading and Navigation 19 Land Search 38 Work in an Operations Centre 16 Four Wheel Drive 8 Certificate 2 in Public Safety (SES Rescue) 40 Air Observers* 9 Drop Masters* 1 Vertical Rescue 10 Introduction to Emergency Management∗ 16

∗ External courses

Progress Against Our Strategic Plan Objectives

Introduction As this is the last annual report against our inaugural Strategic Plan, which covered the period 2002-2005, this section reports on our overall progress against the objectives we established in our plan.

Headquarters Objective: and Vehicle Infrastructure To address the current limitations of our headquarters and vehicle infrastructure so that we can better server the Wollongong City community and continue to support growth within the Unit.

Outcome:

Despite a number of meetings in 2003 with Council, both parties were unable to come up with a suitable location for a new headquarters. Initial negotiations were centered on a joint SES/RFS headquarters, but with regionalisation initiatives inside the RFS this became unfeasible.

Subsequent negotiations involved the use of land purchased from BHP by the SES on which a new Illawarra/South Coast Division headquarters is being built. The size of the land was such that it would have been possible to accommodate both our Unit headquarters and the Division headquarters; however, the Director General of the SES was against this arrangement.

Discussions between Council and the SES have recently resumed in an effort to come to a mutually acceptable arrangement. The goal to get a new headquarters for the Unit will be carried over into our next strategic plan.

Our troop-carriers were replaced with four dual-cab Holden Rodeo’s in 2003 and the changeover has been very much appreciated by the Unit, as it has significantly increased our ability perform our core role by enabling us to get more resources into the field when the community needs us most.

Earlier this year Council replace our old V-hull Flood Rescue Boat, and our catering caravan has been replace with a larger caravan, which is currently being fitted out as a combined field response and catering unit. In the next month or two our heavy response vehicle, a Mitsubishi Canter which is ten years old, is being replaced.

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Progress Against Our Strategic Plan Objectives, Continued

Training Objective: Development To actively embrace the organisation’s training reforms to develop the skills and competency of our members in line with industry best practice.

Outcome:

In implementing and evaluating our training strategy over the past five years, several crucial challenges have emerged. In particular, our extraordinarily high membership numbers and retention rate have been – and continue to be – both a strength and a potential vulnerability. While they ensure a breadth and depth of experience within the Unit, as well as the vitality that comes from new talent and beginners' enthusiasm, they also pose specific problems for the Training Team:

• Many of the more experienced members have found that training focused on newer members does not offer them the kind of progress they would like in continuing to develop their own skills. • Many of the newer volunteers feel "lost in the shuffle" of large course sizes and the inevitably less-personal approach that trainers must take with larger groups. • The Training Team (trainers, assessors, Training Officer, Training Coordinator and Training Assistant) have been stretched to capacity delivering and managing training for such a large and diverse Unit.

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Progress Against Our Strategic Plan Objectives, Continued

Achievements:

In terms of the goals listed in the 2002-2005 Strategic Plan, progress has been mixed:

• In most key skill areas, each team (of the three in the current Unit structure) now has a number of experienced operators. These skill areas include our core competencies of flood and storm response and general rescue, as well as flood-boat and chainsaw operations, land search, navigation, radio communications, vertical-rescue skills and team leadership. One area that continues to need improvement is the number of volunteers in each team with operations-room and operations- management skills. • Monday-night training and exercises are specifically designed to allow most members to practise most skills on a regular basis. Weekend exercises and events allow practice of specialist skills, as well as practice in applying skills to a broad range of situations. This, plus our normal callouts, helps to maintain full operational readiness. In the spirit of the Unit's commitment to continual improvement, the Training Team always seeks to refine and augment the Unit's training strategies. • The vast majority of Unit training focuses either on general storm- and flood-response skills or on specialist skills that directly support them (such as flood-boat and chainsaw skills). We will continue to give courses in these skills the priority in allocating our training resources. • Our ability to provide support to other emergency service organisations continues to be an area of real strength for the Unit. We often assist other emergency services in the Illawarra, and it is a role that the entire Unit takes very seriously. Our versatility and professionalism have meant that we have gained a high reputation amongst other services, and we have backed that up by maintaining our skills and developing inter- agency relationships through joint training and exercises and familiarization visits to other services' headquarters, and by providing reliable and competent support in actual events. • The Unit has made significant progress in increasing the numbers of trainers and assessors. Between 2002 and 2005, 11 members have achieved certification as trainers, and nine as assessors, and many more have begun the process of reaching these goals. Additionally, the Unit has trialled a number of initiatives designed to manage the needs of large groups of learners, including increasing the role of mentors to support courses' designated trainers and delivering courses in a more modular (less linear) fashion to allow learners to focus on the skills they are most likely to need early in their SES involvement.

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Progress Against Our Strategic Plan Objectives, Continued

Profile Objective: Improvement To maintain and build on our Unit’s high-profile presence within the organisation and other emergency services.

Progress:

During the 2004-2005 period the Unit was involved in 44 community/public liaison events. These included school visits and speaking engagements, hosting visits by Scout and Guide groups and running static displays. This is certainly an increase on the previous year, which shows that we are increasing our profile within the community.

The Unit has a dedicated Community Liaison Officer, who coordinates the majority of these activities. Our Intelligence Officer is regularly involved in meetings such as Floodplain Management Committees. Finally, we have had a representative at all regular and special meetings of the Local Rescue and Emergency Management Committees.

Our Unit continues to have a good working relationship with all emergency services and we will continue to build on this in future years.

The Unit now has two Media Liaison Officers, who have been proactive in promoting the Unit’s activities and achievements.

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Progress Against Our Strategic Plan Objectives, Continued

Member Goals: Development To attract and retain quality members and offer them the best possible environment for skill and experience development.

Progress:

Because of the size of the Unit and the limitations we have in terms of our headquarters and training resources, we’ve been running at about the maximum comfortable size of 100 members for the past two years. Earlier this year we had a small intake of non-field (Operations and Administrative) members and are planning to have a small field intake in September. As part of the intake process, members are put through criminal record checks and a standard Induction training process, which includes a formal interview procedure.

The number of social activities declined during the 2004-2005 reporting period due to training workload involved in bringing our large member base up to a comfortable base skill level. Now that this has been achieved we are planning to introduce more activities in the next financial year.

Overall, over the three years covered by our current Strategic Plan, we have reached about the maximum comfortable size that our Unit can effectively manage due to current resource limitations. Our focus in coming years will be on helping our members enhance their own skills.

Annex A: Log of 2004-2005 Activities

Introduction This list contains a complete list of the Unit’s activities for the period 1 July 2005 through to 30 June 2005.

Date Activity Event Type Description Effort 1 Task 2 Jul Operation Wind Storm Clean up and re-secure loose sheets of iron 3 Members 3 Hours 3 Tasks 6 Jul Operation Wind Storm Brief Windstorm caused damage to roofs & trees 6 Members 24 Hours 1 Task Provide assistance at Camp Quality utilising Larkin Frame 13 Jul PR / Community PR/Community 11 Members to enable cancer children to go abseiling 135 Hours 24 Tasks 19 Jul Operation Rain Storm Rain & Wind storm caused damage to homes 28 Members 203 Hours 1 Task Search - Police requested assistance with an evidence search at 23 Jul Operation 10 Members Evidence Gwynneville 25 Hours 1 Task 23 Jul PR / Community PR/Community Members participated with SHQ in making video for CIS. 4 Members 86 Hours 1 Task 23 Jul PR / Community PR/Community PR talk to Corrimal Aged Care Home 1 Member 1 Hour 1 Task 27 Jul PR / Community PR/Community Attended floodplain meeting with Council for Mullet Creek 1 Member 1 Hour 4 Tasks 1 Aug Fund Raising Fund Raising Bucket Collection @ Dapto Markets 25 Members 125 Hours 14 Tasks 4 Aug Operation Wind Storm Windstorm caused damage to houses 24 Members 119 Hours 1 Task 5 Aug Operation Wind Storm Brief windstorm caused some damage 4 Members 3 Hours 1 Task 7 Aug PR / Community PR/Community PR Display at Bluey Day at Bunnings Warrawong 5 Members 10 Hours 2 Tasks 7 Aug Operation Wind Storm Brief windstorm caused damage 5 Members 10 Hours 1 Task 9 Aug PR / Community PR/Community PR Talk to Port Kembla Rotary Club 1 Member 1 Hour

1 Task 12 Aug PR / Community PR/Community PR Talk to Farm Village Garden Club 1 Member 1 Hour 4 Tasks 13 Aug Operation Wind Storm Windstorm caused damage to some houses and trees 8 Members 88 Hours 1 Task 17 Aug PR / Community PR/Community PR Visit to Holy Spirit College 1 Member 1 Hour 1 Task 18 Aug Operation Rain Storm Brief rainstorm caused some minor damage to a house 7 Members 7 Hours 1 Task 19 Aug PR / Community PR/Community Attend Towradgi Creek Floodplain meeting @ Council 1 Member 2 Hours 1 Task Provide a visual presence overnight at NSWFB 25 Aug PR / Community PR/Community 59 Members Championships @ Balgownie 349 Hours 1 Task 1 Sep PR / Community PR/Community PR Visit to Thirroul Public School 4 Members 8 Hours 4 Tasks 1 Sep Fund Raising Fund Raising Bucket Collection @ Dapto Markets for September 29 Members 87 Hours 1 Task 2 Sep PR / Community PR/Community Korrahill Scout Troop visit to LHQ 7 Members 14 Hours 1 Task 6 Sep Operation Other Replaced smoke detector batteries for aged person 1 Member 1 Hour 1 Task 7 Sep PR / Community PR/Community PR Visit to Illawarra Christian School 6 Members 15 Hours 1 Task 12 Sep PR / Community PR/Community Participated in Spring Into Corrimal Street Parade 3 Members 5 Hours 1 Task Search - 12 Sep Operation Assisted Police with missing person search at Wombarra 14 Members Missing Person 49 Hours 1 Task 15 Sep Operation Animal Rescue Assist Police in removing duck from chimney 5 Members 8 Hours 1 Task Search - Assist Police with possible vertical rescue of 2 downed 19 Sep Operation 20 Members Missing Person paragliders @ Wombarra 40 Hours 1 Task 24 Sep PR / Community PR/Community PR Visit to Berkeley Public School 4 Members 18 Hours 1 Task Search - 26 Sep Operation Assist Police with evidence search @ Bulli 17 Members Evidence 51 Hours 1 Oct Fund Raising Fund Raising Bucket Collection at Dapto Markets 5 Tasks

27 Members 81 Hours 12 Tasks 1 Oct Operation Rain Storm Brief rainstorm caused some damage to the Illawarra area 17 Members 170 Hours 1 Task Motor Vehicle Assist Police in stabilising tractor, extricating trapped 2 Oct Operation 5 Members Accident person,and transport to Ambulance 15 Hours 1 Task PR talk to Helensburgh Cafe Club, and Recon of general 7 Oct PR / Community PR/Community 1 Member Helensburgh area 4 Hours 1 Task Static display at Shellharbour Private Hospital using 7 Oct PR / Community PR/Community 4 Members vehicle, handouts, etc 14 Hours 1 Task Static display in Wollongong Mall for Community Safety 7 Oct PR / Community PR/Community 3 Members Week in conjunction with NSW Police 15 Hours 1 Task 9 Oct Training Training Weekend First Aid course 17 Members 256 Hours 1 Task 14 Oct Operation Rain Storm Small branch caused damage to roof 5 Members 3 Hours 1 Task 18 Oct Operation Rain Storm Brief rainstorm caused damage to ceiling 3 Members 1 Hour 24 Tasks Responded to tasks related to a rainstorm that hit the 21 Oct Operation Rain Storm 19 Members State 174 Hours 1 Task Assisted Police & RTA with road block marshalling for the 23 Oct PR / Community PR/Community 9 Members Viva La Gong Festival 32 Hours 1 Task Unit training exercise at Flagstaff Hill, Wollongong 25 Oct Training Training 65 Members involving cliff rescue and various casualties. 130 Hours 1 Task 27 Oct PR / Community PR/Community PR Talk to Short Street Occasional Care Pre School 4 Members 5 Hours Major windstorm (reaching speeds of 100kph) came 349 Tasks through the Illawarra region causing numerous tree and 27 Oct Operation Wind Storm 69 Members roof damage calls. We were assisted by Units from 1202 Hours Siuthern Highland and Southern Sydney Divisions. 3 Tasks Brief sudden rainstorm struck the Northern Suburbs of 1 Nov Operation Rain Storm 12 Members Wollongong 36 Hours 1 Task 1 Nov Fund Raising Fund Raising Bucket Collection at Dapto Markets 17 Members 47 Hours 1 Task Tree branch was hung up in a tree and resting on the roof 4 Nov Operation Wind Storm 2 Members of the house 4 Hours 5 Nov Operation Rain Storm Brief rainstorm caused damage to roofs 4 Tasks

3 Members 12 Hours 1 Task Assisted Police with road blocks for MS Sydney to Gong 7 Nov PR / Community PR/Community 7 Members Bike Ride 60 Hours 1 Task Brief rainstorm caused damage to ceiling due to missing 11 Nov Operation Rain Storm 6 Members tile 8 Hours 1 Task PR display at Robertson St Kindergarten using SES 11 Nov PR / Community PR/Community 2 Members puppets and truck. 4 Hours 1 Task PR display at Hayes Pary Public School utilising SES 18 Nov PR / Community PR/Community 4 Members puppets, video and truck. 10 Hours 1 Task Motor Vehicle Shored up roof with acro props and tarped area when car 19 Nov Operation 3 Members Accident ran into a building 9 Hours 1 Task McHappy Day at Wollongong McDonalds - "Flippin' 20 Nov PR / Community PR/Community 6 Members burgers, frying fries, being in the public's eyes" 21 Hours 1 Task 24 Nov Operation Wind Storm Removed large branch that was resting on roof of house 7 Members 11 Hours 1 Task Search - Assist Police with search for missing 5 year old boy at 27 Nov Operation 10 Members Missing Person Thirroul 15 Hours 1 Task 1 Dec Fund Raising Fund Raising Bucket Collection at Dapto Markets 16 Members 40 Hours 1 Task 6 Dec Operation Wind Storm Tree down over driveway 5 Members 10 Hours 1 Task PR display and visual presence at Santa's Fairyland in 7 Dec PR / Community PR/Community 24 Members Bellambi 84 Hours 2 Tasks A broad low pressure system crossed the coast bringing 10 Dec Operation Rain Storm 7 Members rain to the Illawarra 16 Hours 1 Task Assisted with crowd control and parking at Dapto 10 Dec PR / Community PR/Community 14 Members Community Carols 112 Hours 1 Task Search - Assisted Police with search for person and evidence after 13 Dec Operation 10 Members Evidence a vehicle accident 30 Hours 21 Tasks 13 Dec Operation Wind Storm Brief windstorm caused damage to trees and houses 3 Members 6 Hours 1 Task Take children from Camp Quality abseiling & on a flying 19 Dec PR / Community PR/Community 11 Members fox at Jervis Bay 138 Hours A strong southerly change brought damaging winds that 5 Tasks 19 Dec Operation Wind Storm caused damage to trees and roofs. 16 Members

88 Hours 6 Tasks Provided an Out Of Area Assistance team to Southern 20 Dec Operation Wind Storm 5 Members Sydney Division to assist with tree jobs after a windstorm 50 Hours 1 Task 29 Dec Operation Wind Storm Brief windstorm caused tree to fall into yard 5 Members 20 Hours 5 Tasks Perfomed a bucket collection at Dapto Markets each 1 Jan Fund Raising Fund Raising 25 Members Sunday morning 61 Hours 1 Task 9 Jan Operation Wind Storm Cut up large branch from figtree blocking road 5 Members 5 Hours 1 Task 12 Jan Operation Wind Storm Removed tree branch that was hung up in the tree 4 Members 10 Hours 1 Task Assisted Foodshare Volunteers to load boxed food & 15 Jan PR / Community PR/Community 10 Members goods ready for dispatching to tsunarmi affected regions 30 Hours 10 Tasks 20 Jan Operation Rain Storm Undertook storm response capabilities. 20 Members 90 Hours 1 Task Assist with packing up sleigh and lightsd at Santa's Fairy 22 Jan PR / Community PR/Community 5 Members Lights at Bellambi 15 Hours Intelligence gathering and reconnaissance of Byarong 1 Task 24 Jan PR / Community PR/Community Creek and American Creek to identify and survey hot 2 Members spots and known problem areas 4 Hours 1 Task Search - 25 Jan Operation Assist Police with evidence search after drive-by shooting 12 Members Evidence 30 Hours 1 Task PR display of SES vehicles, pamphlets, etc at 26 Jan PR / Community PR/Community 6 Members Day celebrations at Belmore Basin. 40 Hours 1 Task Bushfire Extinguish grass fire that was started by fireworks on 26 Jan Operation 10 Members Support vacant land opposite LHQ 5 Hours Intelligence gathering and reconnaissance of Fariy Creek 1 Task 31 Jan PR / Community PR/Community and Cabbage Tree Creek to identify and survey hot spots 2 Members and known problem areas 4 Hours 7 Tasks 1 Feb Operation Rain Storm Attended to various roof jobs due to rainstorm 14 Members 50 Hours Attended a "Planning For Natural Hazards - How We Can 1 Task 2 Feb PR / Community PR/Community Mitigate The Impact" symposium at Wollongong 1 Member University. 32 Hours 3 Tasks Attended two local jobs and the provided OOAA to Buxton 2 Feb Operation Rain Storm 7 Members (Wingecarrabie Unit) 42 Hours 2 Tasks Provided OOAA to Ryde (03/02/05) and Hunters Hill 3 Feb Operation Rain Storm 8 Members (04/02/05) Units to assist with storm damage work 106 Hours

1 Task Provided OOAA team (along with Shellharbour Unit) to 6 Feb Operation Rain Storm 2 Members assist at Gosford 89 Hours 4 Tasks 6 Feb Fund Raising Fund Raising Bucket Collection at Dapto Markets 19 Members 48 Hours 1 Task Search - 11 Feb Operation Assisted Police with missing person search at Berkeley 11 Members Missing Person 19 Hours 1 Task Attended Allens Creek Floodplain meeting at Wollongong 15 Feb PR / Community PR/Community 1 Member City Council chambers. 4 Hours 1 Task Motor Vehicle Assisted Police with removing a vehicle from inside a 16 Feb Operation 5 Members Accident house and shoring the house. 8 Hours 10 Tasks Various core role tasks due to thunderstorm with rain, hail 19 Feb Operation Rain Storm 26 Members and winds 104 Hours 15 Tasks Strong storm front caused haevy rain which resulted in 20 Feb Operation Rain Storm 18 Members flood threats and roof damage 99 Hours 4 Tasks 1 Mar Fund Raising Fund Raising Bucket collection at gates of Dapto Markets 19 Members 48 Hours 1 Task Gave PR talk to 80 Senior Citizens at Ribbonwood Centre 4 Mar PR / Community PR/Community 1 Member at Dapto on Floodsafe Program and self help. 1 Hour 1 Task 9 Mar PR / Community PR/Community School visit to Year 5 at St Joseph's Bulli 3 Members 3 Hours 1 Task 13 Mar PR / Community PR/Community Participated in Walk Against Want & BBQ 4 Members 10 Hours 1 Task 16 Mar Operation PR/Community Visit by Korrahill Venturer Unit to LHQ 5 Members 8 Hours 1 Task 19 Mar PR / Community PR/Community Orientation Day for prospective new members at LHQ 18 Members 108 Hours 18 Tasks Strong east coast low caused heavy rain & strong winds 22 Mar Operation Rain Storm 18 Members across the Illawarra 65 Hours 4 Tasks 3 Apr Fund Raising Fund Raising Bucket Collection at Dapto Markets 20 Members 61 Hours 1 Task Search - Assisted Police in search for 3 missing children at 12 Apr Operation 13 Members Missing Person Helensburgh 91 Hours 1 Task 14 Apr Operation Other Assist Police with transportation of seized goods 2 Members 4 Hours 20 Apr PR / Community PR/Community Attended Illawarra View Club meeting as Guest Speaker 1 Task

on the Role of the SES and Flood Safe. 1 Member 3 Hours Attended lecture at Wollongong Uni by Professor Stephen 1 Task Hill (Regional Director of UNESCO) speaking on the 21 Apr PR / Community PR/Community 1 Member "Aftermath & recovery problems facing U.N. Aid agencies 3 Hours afetr the Tsunami Disaster in Indonesia." 9 Tasks 29 Apr Operation Hail Storm Provided OOAA to Ulladulla due to large hailstorm 7 Members 133 Hours 1 Task Attended Channel Nine to rig & run a flying fox for Kerrie- 17 May PR / Community PR/Community 7 Members Anne Kennelly to jump off 63 Hours 1 Task Intelligence Officer attended meeting with Council Flood 17 May PR / Community PR/Community 1 Member Education Officer re Community Flood Awareness 2 Hours 2 Tasks 21 May Operation Not Applicable Attended site of burst water main which flooded houses 7 Members 18 Hours 1 Task Search - Assisted Police with evidence search at scene of possible 21 May Operation 14 Members Evidence shots fired. 28 Hours 1 Task 25 May PR / Community PR/Community Presented PR talk at Dapto Garden Club 1 Member 2 Hours 1 Task Gave PR talk to Lions Club of Wollongong on general info 26 May PR / Community PR/Community 2 Members re SES (Functions, history, storm safety etc) 5 Hours 3 Tasks 28 May Operation Wind Storm Removal of tree off two houses and make safe branches 7 Members 56 Hours 1 Task 12 Jun Operation Wind Storm Assisted resident in removing fallen branch from laneway 1 Member 1 Hour 1 Task Five members participated in the Paddy Pallin Rogaine 19 Jun Social Not Applicable 5 Members held at Newnes Plateau in the Blue Mountains 6 Hours 1 Task 25 Jun Training Training Wellington "wombats" cave rescue weekend. 11 Members 528 Hours 1 Task Fixed broken tiles which were allowing water to enter 26 Jun Operation Rain Storm 3 Members premises 5 Hours 1 Task 28 Jun Operation Rain Storm http://mystic.ses.nsw.gov.au/seslog/seslog.php 6 Members 12 Hours 124 Tasks Strong low over the east coast caused strong rain periods 30 Jun Operation Rain Storm 66 Members resulting in roof damage 509 Hours