New Medium Rescue Truck arrives at VICSES Mildura Unit, 30 October 2023

VICSES Mildura Unit has traded in its rescue support vehicle for a Medium Rescue Truck (MRT), substantially increasing its Road Crash Rescue (RCR) capability throughout Sunraysia.

The VICSES unit at Mildura has been identified as one of four Surge Units across the state, chosen for the remoteness of its location and its role in supporting other units. Unlike other RCR-accredited units VICSES Mildura Unit requires not just one principal RCR vehicle, but two operational vehicles.

This means that VICSES Mildura Unit members can simultaneously respond to two RCR incidents, even outside of its response boundary.

The boundary extends from Mildura town to the South Australian border, as far south as Carwarp and beyond, when assisting VICSES Ouyen and Robinvale Units with RCR incidents.

The $240,000 cost of the MRT was paid for with Victorian Emergency Services Equipment Program (VESEP) funding in 2020, amounting to $150,000, the sale of the Light Rescue Vehicle (LRV), and unit funds.

What do VICSES volunteers do in a RCR incident?

• VICSES volunteers play a critical and often lifesaving role during a Road Crash Rescue (RCR) incident
• VICSES volunteers work closely with Ambulance Victoria paramedics to a effect a safe and systematic approach to extricating those trapped in the vehicle
• VICSES volunteers plan the best outcome for the patient, utilising tools such as hydraulic cutters and spreaders - or  the 'jaws of life' - handling the patient safely and mitigating hazards, such as fuels, airbags, and seatbelt pre-tensioners
• VICSES volunteers may also be tasked with protecting and preserving the scene of an incident, and managing traffic
• In the last financial year alone (2022/23), VICSES volunteers responded to 1,516 RCR incidents in support of Victoria Police, spending over 12,000 hours in total at RCR incidents

Ahead of the busy tourist season, VICSES Mildura Unit volunteers remind Victorians that fatigue is one of the biggest contributors to deaths on our roads.

With an estimated 17 per cent of motor vehicle fatalities in Victoria related to sleep deprivation, it is important to make the time to take routine breaks, at least every two hours, when planning a long drive including dropping in at any Driver Reviver sites.

VICSES provides 85% of Road Crash Rescue (RCR) coverage across Victoria with each of our 104 principal accredited units capability assessed every three years. We also have 22 Rescue Support Units statewide.

From townships on the Murray to the north, throughout the Mallee, over and between the ranges to the east and around the central plains; from the Bellarine to Port Phillip Bay: our volunteers are ready.

Interested in volunteering with VICSES? Join us.

To read more stories about our work in Road Crash Rescue (RCR), click here.

Quote attributable to VICSES Mildura Unit, Deputy Controller, Michael Hellwege:

“The extra capability offered by this new Medium Rescue Truck is a necessary extension of the critical and lifesaving role that our VICSES volunteers play in road crash rescue, throughout the Sunraysia area.”