Mothers and daughters join forces at Melton unit

Two mother-daughter pairs are among a group of women at VICSES' Melton unit that have successfully completed their general rescue training.

Cynthia Milones-Alatrista, Yvonne Newton, Simone Newton, Ashley Newton, Linh Le, Fiona Lien, Nikita Davies, Alyssa Calladine are pictured above, following their training in July, 2020 (prior to the compulsory wearing of face coverings).

It marks a shift towards diversity for the unit, who have been proactive in improving female participation in their ranks.

The group of volunteers was guided by unit trainers Michael Britton and Paul Granvillani in late July, and means a big boost for Melton unit in terms of response capability.

In the last 12 months, the unit responded to 236 Requests for Assistance.

Their callouts ranged from trees down, building damage and flood to assisting police or ambulance, domestic rescue and even earthquake.

For more updates on the Melton unit, follow their Facebook page.