Far South Coast BRanch
Support Operations
All Far South Coast Clubs identify and form a team of qualified members who may be available to respond (if available) to incidents at their beach (and surrounding areas) outside of patrol hours and/or in support of an on-duty patrol. This team should be made up of appropriately experienced and qualified personnel who are versed in the relevant SLSNSW procedures and any/all branch/club specific plans/procedures. Clubs are to have a minimum of 6 members on their call out team; most clubs have between 10 and 20 members.
24/7 Support
Clubs ensure that core items of emergency response equipment are set up and ready to respond 24/7. These include, IRB’s, RWC’s, ATV’s, Radios, Oxygen Equipment, Defib’s, Board and Tubes.
Emergency Management
The Far South Coast Branch is part of the Local Emergency Management Committees (LEMC). This committee have certain plans put in place to cope with emergencies which are robust, effective and flexible enough to deal with the range of emergencies experienced in our communities.
Joint Operations
Clubs work collaboratively with other emergency services such as Marine Rescue, SES, RFS, Police and Ambulance Services to undertake Search and Rescue Training Exercises (SAREX), to ensure everyone is ready in an emergency situation.
Emergency Response Beacons
Far South Coast Branch supports the emergency response beacons that are being placed at various “Blackspot Locations” along the NSW coast. The Units provide fast communication to the SLSNSW State Operations Centre in an Emergency.
DUTY OFFICERS
Duty Officers are experienced lifesavers who have additional training and skills in incident command and deploying assets in emergency situations. We have 12 Duty Officers across the Far South Coast and their role is to respond to all emergency call outs outside patrol hours and all serious incidents during patrols. They provide support to Patrol Captains and can take the lead in liaising with other emergency service organisations.
Our Duty Officers all undergo additional training and professional development throughout the year in search and rescue exercises, member welfare and psychological first aid among other topics
IRB OPERATIONS
Inflatable Rescue Boat’s are utilised in all club and search and rescue situations. Members involved in club Support Operations and encouraged to take part in Advanced IRB programs to help better their skills, enabling us to maximise the efficiency of the IRB’s in rescue situations.
RWC OPERATIONS
FSC Branch Support Operations have 5 jet skis housed at various locations across the Branch. They’re available for regular patrols, event water safety and search and rescue operations. The RWC is ideal quick-response equipment in many situations and they’re a vital piece of equipment for our team given we have over 220 km of coastline in our Branch.
UAV OPERATIONS
We have DPI Shark Management Program locations situates at 3 locations in our Branch: Malua Bay, Tathra and Pambula. These teams run regular surveillance during patrols and also capture data for DPI.
FSC also has two Westpac Lifesaver Rescue Drones that are situated with Duty Officers. Their primary purpose is search and rescue, but they can also be deployed for water safety at ocean swims and carnivals.