Finalists
Australian Capital Territory RESCA
2018 Finalists
Congratulations to the winners in 2018
2018 Finalists
ACT Ambulance Services – 2018 Finalists
ANDY FRANCEY –Intensive Care Paramedic – Belconnen
Andrew Francey has worked in different areas of the Emergency Services for over 25 years. He joined ACT Ambulance Service in 2007 as an Intensive Care Paramedic, and has been volunteering with the Rural Fire service since 2014.
Andrew is very community minded and is always putting his hand up for school visits and local events. He also likes to take up a challenge especially for charity, he has run a marathon for a Children’s liver disease charity, taken part in the world’s greatest shave and Movember. His latest effort was completing a 65km walk raising money for cystic fibrosis, a disease his cousin’s 9 year old daughter battles every day. He was able to raise over $3000.
ACT Fire and Rescue – 2018 Finalists
MARK BLAKE – Fire Fighter – Fyshwick
Mark Blake, a senior firefighter with ACT Fire & Rescue, is concerned not just with sudden emergencies but with the ongoing, insidious threat of cancer. To help with this he has taken to the pedal, joining the Lifecycle Teams Challenge, cycling with the group and being “a pivotal point”, according to his nominee, in raising funds that flow from the cycling efforts. The particular beneficiary is the Leukaemia Foundation with funds being raised for the operation of a purpose-built village in Canberra, which will provide accommodation for patients from NSW and the ACT. Mark is also involved in the Hartley Cycle Challenge, another cycling event which raises funds for Canberra-based Hartley Lifecare, a charity dedicated to helping people with disabilities.
ROBERT THOMPSON – Station Officer – Fyshwick
Rob Thompson, a station officer with ACT Fire & Rescue, a specialist in road accident, confined space and vertical rescue, has been noted for his conscientious discharge of his duties and has underlined that efficiency by leading the ACT Fire & Rescue team last year to the Australasian Road Rescue Organisation’s competition in New Zealand, where it performed well. Rob provides ongoing support towards ill firefighters and those affected by trauma and stress. He has promoted the services of Soldier On, dedicated to the welfare of those who serve and protect Australia, and which is now used by many ACT Fire & Rescue members. He has also taken short-term secondments with the ACT Rural Fire Service and ACT State Emergency Service.
ACT Rural Fire Service – 2018 Finalists
ANTHONY KIDNEY – Molonglo Brigade Training Officer – Higgins
When the dramas come, volunteer emergency workers might only have one chance to do the right thing. Anthony Kidney, known as “TK”, a training officer with the Molonglo RFS Brigade, ACT, is one of those dedicated to ensuring they do just that. Coordinator of training active and a brigade representative at service training meetings, he spends perhaps five hours a week, of his own time, running training nights and mentoring new recruits until they have completed their Basic Firefighter course. He assists in running bushfire fighter courses at tertiary level and runs Advanced Fire Fighting technical courses or his brigade and other brigades. Tony also provides training statistic and training direction input to the brigade committee and service training group.
MARK SEDGMAN – Rural Volunteer Fire Fighter – Rivers, Cotter Road
When horrendous bushfires descended upon Canberra in 2003, and when bushfires have ravaged Victoria, Mark Sedgman, a volunteer with the Rural Fire Service, based at Stromlo in the ACT, has been there, fighting the blazes as he has for the past 19 years. His son said: “My dad is always ready and prepared for a fire, his bag sits at the front door and has now become part of the furniture.” Mark has often had to leave a note for his family saying he is out firefighting. A Community Fire Unit captain in Duffy, ACT, Mark has continually encouraged the community to fireproof their properties and has gone out of his way to help people prune and clear away debris.
ACT State Emergency Service – 2018 Finalists
SUE ELSBURY – Team Leader Peer Support Team – Woden
The effect of traumatic incidents on emergency workers has been a large focus for Sue Elsbury in her role as an ACTSES Peer Support Team, Team Leader. As a volunteer with the ACTSES since 2007, Sue is a very active operational member responding to storm and flood emergencies, land based search operations, and as a qualified air-observer. Her most recent contribution has been in assisting in the establishment of the ACT Emergency Service Agency’s Peer Support Program to enhance the health and wellbeing of ACTSES volunteers. Sue has taken the lead in devising a training program, establishing operating procedures and deploying Peer Support volunteers to high-risk emergency responses. Sue is also a very active and passionate member of the ACTSES Community Education and Engagement Team.
NORM NELSON – Volunteer, Pialligo Unit – Operational Command Vehicle – Pialligo
The emergency services cannot work without effective communications and Norm Nelson, a member of the ACTSES Pialligo Unit, has fulfilled that role in style. With 24 years of experience as an emergency services volunteer, his calm and considered leadership style was most evident when he was sector commander in a major storm flash flooding event in the ACT in February this year. Norm has provided radio communications for all types of SES operations and also in leading teams and coordinating communications for large scale community events in the ACT such as Australia Day and the ACT Multicultural Festival. Norm is also a member of the ACT ESA Volunteer Incident Management Team providing support for the SES, RFS and ambulance service.