Ambulance Week Open Day at Tin Can Bay

Rod and Lorna Jordan, Terry Steele, Caroline Taylor, David Lane (TCB), Bob Grey (Rainbow Beach) & Wilbur Fahey (TCB) ready to help at the Open Day

Rod and Lorna Jordan, Terry Steele, Caroline Taylor, David Lane (TCB), Bob Grey (Rainbow Beach) & Wilbur Fahey (TCB) ready to help at the Open Day

Barb Rees

An open day at Tin Can Bay Ambulance Station was a chance for our community to see how it all works, ask questions and have a sticky-beak at the inside of an ambulance.

If you were one of the people who grabbed the opportunity you would have more than an insight into the ambulance service.

It was certainly a bit of an eye-opener for me.

Did you know that the LAC raise funds to fit out our ambulance vehicles with equipment that isn’t stock standard? Neither did I.

They have raised funds to purchase mannequins for CPR training, a Hovermatt to make it easier to get patients into the ambulance, floodlights for the ‘copter pad so the chopper can land safely at night and have also bought Max-traxs for the 4wd ambulance, just to name a few.

I spoke to Lorna Jordan who, along with husband Rod, is one of the hard working volunteers who raise funds for these vital pieces of equipment.

“We just like to help, we help with sausage sizzles, selling raffle tickets, and the flower show. We just do whatever is needed. You never know when you are going to need the Ambos and it’s nice to be able to give back to them,” Lorna explained. “It’s good to have days like this to raise community awareness.”

How many people are on the LAC? “We have twelve members all up, eight from Tin Can Bay and four from Rainbow Beach, “answers secretary Caroline Taylor. “We have monthly meetings and alternate between Rainbow and Tin Can Bay.”

The Coast Guard was ably represented by Michael Manwaring and Trish Parry. Being a volunteer organisation with limited funding the Coast Guard are always trying to raise money and awareness.

What do they do?

Rescue vessels in distress, assist police and work with the ambulance as a medivac service. The group operate three rescue vessels covering the area from Tin Can Bay up the Straits, down to Double Island and as far as Indian Head. That’s a big area.

They raise funds through raffles, donations and the main fundraiser is the Easter collection on the corner of Rainbow Beach Road. “That’s the biggest money-maker for us. People are fantastic,’ said Trish. “We also have a collection on the Manta Ray Barge during holidays, every little bit helps.”

With a new vessel costing over $600,00 that’s a lot of chook raffles, and the expenses never end. “We have about 40 volunteers, but we could always use more, more bodies and more money,” said Michael.

The Auxiliary Fire Service is of course a vital part of our community. Desley Goldsworthy, who has been involved for 25 years explained, “We are here to support the ambulance service. We work hand in hand with them all the time, from road accidents to house fires to rescue operations.”

There are currently nine members who are on call 24/7, and as usual they are always keen to gain new members. Bradley who has been involved for six years since he was 18 and loves the job says, “We are always updating our training, I love the chance to help the community, and every call-out is different. I really enjoy it.”

The other group represented was the Local Disaster Management Support Group whose important role is to initiate and co-ordinate all the rescue services in the case of an emergency. Volunteer Terry Steele explains further, “We cover Rainbow Beach, Cooloola Cove, Tin Can Bay, Wallu, Goomborian and Neerdie, that’s a huge area.

“We have a core group of people within each community to ensure that all the emergency procedures are put in place.”

They say you learn something new every day, and I certainly learnt a lot that day. We are lucky to have such generous caring people amongst us, doing a sometimes thankless job to keep us all that bit safer.

So next time you are asked to buy a raffle ticket or sausage sanga, put your hand in your pocket and give these wonderful people a helping hand to continue their great work!

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