Every day brings new challenges, but some things always need to be taken care of. Making sure the helicopter fuel is pure & unaffected would be one of those things. Likewise, I always need to check the aircrafts equipment is fitted & ready to be tasked. Then there’s admin – there’s always admin! No one specific job is more important than any other. What’s really crucial is more general; it’s the mental side of things. The mindset. We always need to be alert and ready to respond. We never know what job we’ll be called on next: a hospital transfer, motor vehicle accident, winch, search, it could be anything.
We were called out to do a winch off Kemp Hill. The cliff out there is really steep – far too steep for proper footholds. This was a problem as it meant I couldn’t use any of the usual rescue equipment. We decided to use a rescue strop, because at that point it was the only viable option.
It’s a mixture of lifestyle and work for me. I like working here and I like living here. There’s no one thing – it’s everything about the place to be honest.
I’m always up for a hike and in Central QLD you’re spoiled for choice when it comes to mountains – so that would be one. Then there’s Great Keppel Island, which is awesome. I love to go camping too and there’s too many good spots to pick just one, sorry!
An interesting fact I’ve picked up is that 80% of our workload is hospital transport, which gives us lots of opportunity to help sick or injured people.
It’s all about the Central QLD region and the people who live here. It’s important to me to be part of a valuable service to my home place and the people in my community. I also enjoy the excitement each day brings, as you never know what you’re going to get. Each job has its own difficulties and some days are hard. They can be really hard to be honest. But it’s worth it to see how relieved people are once they get to the hospital and realise they’re going to be okay. That’s more rewarding than anything.
Step-Up Volunteer Sue Neaton tells us about her experience volunteering with RACQ CapRescue.
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Rescue Crewman, Garth Snaidero, tells us all about his position at RACQ CapRescue and what brought him to Central QLD.