VICSES heroes honoured with Emergency Services Medals

Three Victoria State Emergency Service (VICSES) volunteers from the far reaches of the state have had their exemplary service immortalised, recipients of the Emergency Services Medal (ESM) as part of the 2025 King’s Birthday honours.

Representing more than 100 years of combined volunteer service, Wayne Barnes ESM (VICSES Bacchus Marsh Unit), Graham Gales ESM (Bright) and Leo op den Brouw ESM (Mallacoota) were recognised for decades of undying commitment to their communities, during which they’ve left their mark on VICSES as leaders, mentors and as first responders.

Having commenced his volunteering journey with VICSES Bacchus Marsh Unit in 2001 with a background as an intensive care paramedic, Wayne quickly showed proficiency as a leader among his fellow first responders and developed extensive experience in road crash rescue, storm and flood response, and search and rescue.

A respected mentor and willing teacher over more than 20 years, Wayne’s nous for emergency response was punctuated by his actions while attending the 2023 Exford bus crash, for which he and his unit were awarded a Commendation for Service.

With several children trapped and seriously injured in the bus wreckage, Wayne leveraged his experience as a paramedic to successfully apply a tourniquet to a young casualty who had suffered severe injuries, before showcasing great leadership, composure and teamwork to affect a positive multi-agency rescue.

Outside of serving his immediate community, Wayne has also been a key contributor to raising VICSES’ profile both nationally and internationally as a participant, member and assessor with the Australian Road Rescue Organisation, providing expert guidance and coaching to road crash rescue teams from across Australasia.

An exceptionally skilled and casualty-focused volunteer hailing from the state’s northeast, Graham has contributed to more than 2,000 rescue operations in some of Victoria’s most treacherous terrain throughout his more than 40 years with VICSES Bright Unit.

Controller of the local unit since 2022, Graham’s penchant for innovation is well-known, having played a key role in advancing rescue techniques and developing specialist equipment such as the lightweight single-wheel mule stretcher, which has since become an important resource for units littered across the state.

At both a local and state level, Graham’s wealth of experience and expertise in rescue operations has left its mark across VICSES, having aided the development of VICSES’ ‘fitness for role’ program and the implementation of custom rescue trailers to support technical emergency responses throughout Victoria.

An expert in carrying out swift water, high angle and remote area rescues, Graham and his fellow Bright Unit volunteers received national attention in 2009 when they played a key role in the successful search and rescue of a government minister lost on Mount Feathertop for almost two days.

Away from the national spotlight, Graham has been a staunch advocate for his local community, forging important inter-agency relationships and promoting the sharing of specialist knowledge for the betterment of Bright and the wider alpine region.

A similarly strong advocate for communities in Victoria’s far east reaches, VICSES Mallacoota Unit Controller Leo op den Brouw boasts 40 years of frontline VICSES service, during which he has served extensively as a Deputy and Unit Controller.

A stalwart of emergency response in East Gippsland, Leo’s dedication, skill and exposure in providing support to his community have been on show countless times, none more important than during the 2019/20 Victoria bushfires which isolated Mallacoota for weeks and required constant readiness over a four month period.

As leader of the Mallacoota Unit, Leo was instrumental in orchestrating appropriate staging area and lighting support for firefighters in the area, while maintaining the unit’s capacity to continue to turn out to road crash rescue incidents and other requests for assistance.

Leo and his unit also played a key role in supporting the arrival of a Navy barge carrying 30,000 litres of fuel and a two-week supply of food and water for locals and first responders, before supporting tourists left isolated by the fires in packing their belongings and boarding the barge to return to Melbourne.

His exemplary leadership and commitment to his community over four decades have been highly commendable, throughout which he has personified VICSES’ values and its important role in emergencies throughout Victoria.

Well done to all our newest Emergency Services Medal recipients, and thank you for your ongoing dedication to the communities you serve.