Within Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) there are five groups of emergency services volunteers. Bush Fire Brigade, Volunteer Fire Rescue Service, Volunteer Fire and Emergency Services, Marine Rescue and the State Emergency Service or the SES. In her own words, SES volunteer Maxine Burrell, is one of the people in orange you see on the TV. The ones on people’s roofs after a storm, in the middle of a deserted track looking for a missing person, or on top of a cliff helping an injured hiker. Maxine is one of the 26, 000 volunteers across WA that work with DFES and give up their time – without being paid – to help people before, during and after an emergency.
Within Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) there are five groups of emergency services volunteers.
Bush Fire Brigade, Volunteer Fire Rescue Service, Volunteer Fire and Emergency Services, Marine Rescue and the State Emergency Service or the SES.
In her own words, SES volunteer Maxine Burrell, is one of the people in orange you see on the TV.
The ones on people’s roofs after a storm, in the middle of a deserted track looking for a missing person, or on top of a cliff helping an injured hiker.
Maxine is one of the 26, 000 volunteers across WA that work with DFES and give up their time – without being paid – to help people before, during and after an emergency.
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Credits:
Host and producer: Silvana Pulitano
Guest: Maxine Burrell
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Transcript:
For a full transcript of this episode, visit: https://bit.ly/47FkaZR
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This episode may contain reference to traumatic events. Listener discretion is advised.
Visit https://www.dfes.wa.gov.au/copyright for copyright information.
[Silvana Pulitano, Podcast Host] You're listening to Mics and Sirens, the official podcast of the Department of Fire and Emergency Services in Western Australia. DFES acknowledges the traditional owners of the land on which this podcast is created, the Whadjuk people.
[Sirens sound while news footage of fires play]
[Maxine Burrell, SES volunteer] So we were literally 300km in the middle of nowhere. We searched for six days and on the sixth day we found a footprint. It was my first deployment. It was - the whole experience was amazing. But to find someone alive who you had almost resigned yourself to the fact that, this wasn't going to be a good outcome was just amazing. There is that warm and fuzzy feeling when someone says thank you. When you've actually done something, made their day a little bit better.
[Silvana] Within DFES there are five groups of volunteers: Bush Fire Brigade, Volunteer Fire and Rescue Service, Volunteer Fire and Emergency Services, Marine Rescue and State Emergency Services, or the SES. Maxine Burrell, whose voice you just heard, is a volunteer with the SES. In her own words, she's one of the people in orange you see on the TV, the ones on people's roofs after a storm, or in the middle of a deserted track, looking for a missing person, or on top of a cliff helping an injured hiker.
Maxine is one of 26,000 volunteers across WA that work with DFES and give up their time to help people before, during and after an emergency. They do it for free. You might think who would wake up in the middle of the night, or abruptly leave a family engagement, or take off from their day job to attend an emergency without being paid for it? Here's Maxine to tell you why. Maxine welcome.
[Maxine] Thank you.
[Silvana] You've been an SES volunteer - State Emergency Services volunteer - for 11 years. Describe in one word what that's been like.
[Maxine] Okay. I want to say something altruistic, like rewarding, fulfilling, whatever. But I'm going to say fun.
[Silvana] What's fun about it?
[Maxine] It's everything. The challenge is every day is different. The amazing people you work with, like-minded people. No job is the same. And we all get on and enjoy the work.
[Silvana] I guess that's why you've been doing it for 11 years?
[Maxine] Yeah.
[Silvana] So you were a nurse before all of this? What was that like?
[Maxine] I think in the early days, it was challenging. There was variety every day. But I think, as with most careers as you, you know, as you get on in your career, you move up the ladder, you become more managerial, and then life becomes policy and spreadsheets and, I guess you start to feel like you're looking on the outside, and miss that hands on experience.
[Silvana] So you were looking for fun?
[Maxine] I was looking for fun. [Laughs]
[Silvana] So is that when you decided to become a volunteer? When you were sort of missing that piece of fun in your career?
[Silvana] Yes, I was, yeah, absolutely looking for an outlet, yes.
[Silvana] So tell me about the moment when you decided that you wanted to become a volunteer.
[Maxine] I think I used to see orange people on the news. There would be a search, and you'd see all this sea of orange people walking through the bush looking for someone. Or after a big storm, they'd be on the roof doing roof repairs. And I think, I wonder if I could do that? And then, it just happened. I was just driving home one day, and there was a recruitment sign at the side of the road and I thought, yeah, I'm going to give it a go. So.
[Silvana] So it was like a sign.
[Maxine] It was a sign. It was meant to be.
[Silvana] So you've always - so you were a nurse and now you're a State Emergency Services volunteer. You've always been in a position where you want to help people. Has that been a priority for you and what draws you to those roles?
[Maxine] Again, I don't think.... I don't think for me it was an altruistic thing. I didn't think it was an altruistic thing to start with. But now when I reflect, I - you do feel - there is that warm and fuzzy feeling when someone says thank you, when you've actually done something, made their day a little bit better just through some small contribution. So I guess it's that - it's that warm and fuzzy feeling that comes.
[Silvana] So what's your role within the SES?
[Maxine] I'm local - deputy local manager for my unit.
[Silvana] And what does the State Emergency Services volunteer do?
[Maxine] Well we are trained, prepared and pretty much ready for most - just about anything to do with natural disasters, natural hazards.
[Silvana] What kind of things do you respond to?
[Maxine] So we respond to storm, flood, tsunami. That's never coming. Cyclones. We do fire support. We do air observer. We look for missing people in the bush. Yeah.
[Silvana] Tell me about an incident that you have not been able to forget.
[Maxine] I think the one that sticks in my mind over the years was probably my first deployment. Not - probably about a year into my SES career, if you like. And that was a deployment out to Laverton to look for someone who had been missing, for several days. So we were literally 300km in the middle of nowhere. We were camping, sleeping in swags under the stars. We literally had one billy between 19 of us to make coffee. You couldn't get it any more basic than that. But we searched for six days, and on the sixth day we found a footprint. And the next morning this person was found alive.
[Silvana] Can you tell me about - so who were you looking for?
[Maxine] So this was a guy who had been with a friend or his brother, I believe. They'd been out camel shooting, and had literally just disappeared into thin air. And the way we heard afterwards, the way he survived, was by sitting under the shade of a tree and literally eating ants. So for us, he was known as the ant man. So...
[Silvana] Were the ants nutritious? [Laughs]
[Maxine] I always ask myself, could I do that? But you just don't know.
[Silvana] Yeah, I guess desperate times.
[Maxine] Yep, yeah.
[Silvana] So what was your role in that incident? What were you doing?
[Maxine] So I was very new. That was my first deployment, so I was all wide- eyed and excited. And, you know, here we are camping out in the bush, and, I was just one of the searchers. I was fortunate enough that there were only two girls, and we had a small helicopter at our disposal that they used for air searching. So they wanted the two smallest people to do this. So I got to do two days of air observer in the helicopter. Yeah.
And because I was a nurse, I ended up as some kind of pseudo medic for the campsite, treating blisters and heat exhaustion.
[Silvana] So what - when you're in - when you're in the helicopter, what does line searching involve? What does that searching from the air look like? What are you looking for? What are you doing?
[Maxine] We're just looking for any signs of things that are not - shouldn't be there, in nature. So just....
[Silvana] Did you find anything?
[Maxine] We didn't. Unfortunately, for that - was for the first two days. The rest of the time I was searching on foot. And then it was day six when we found the footprint.
[Silvana] So when you're searching on foot, is that sort of the same thing as being in the air? You're just looking for something that doesn't –
[Maxine] Doesn't belong. Yeah.
[Silvana] Shouldn't be there, yeah? Could you be searching for days on end and not come up with anything? Or is it typical that you would come across something that shouldn't be there, but you may not find the person immediately?
[Maxine] We'll often find something, and call it in, but it may not be related to that search, that person, but we'll always call it in and let the police decide. They're running the search.
[Silvana] Do you remember with this incident, what you found?
[Maxine] It was basically one footprint, for the whole six days. We found nothing, and then we found one footprint.
[Silvana] So that was the only thing? What was the moment like when you heard that this person was found?
[Maxine] Well it was absolute amazement and disbelief that he was alive after such a long time. I think we were all gearing up for a bad result. And just, yeah, just pure elation. Yeah.
[Silvana] And where were you at the time?
[Maxine] I was sleeping in the corner of a shack because I'd managed to find a bed, and I heard the call come through on the radio because the TRG had gone out to follow up on the footprint that we'd found. So they called it in.
[Silvana] Was he found close by to the footprint?
[Maxine] I'm not sure exactly where. I think they did a bit of tracking, so that's what they do. Yeah.
[Silvana] I guess it's that relief that the person has been found alive. But were you also shocked?
[Maxine] We were.
[Silvana] Do you plan for the worst in these situations?
[Maxine] We - I think in this one we were planning for the worst. So yeah, it was complete bonus, obviously. And an amazing result.
[Silvana] Why does that particular incident stand out for you?
[Maxine] I think well, the whole adventure of it in the first place, being in the middle of nowhere. And it was my first deployment. It was - the whole experience was amazing. But to find someone alive who you had almost resigned yourself to the fact that, this wasn't going to be a good outcome was just amazing.
[Silvana] When this person was found alive, what was he like? What state was he in? Was he well? Was he healthy?
[Maxine] Yeah, he was very dehydrated. And, he was passed immediately onto the RFDS who took him to hospital.
[Silvana] And you said that your experience as a nurse, you were there to aid with things. Was that for the other volunteers or was that for the missing person?
[Maxine] So I think more for the volunteers. And this was unofficial. I think this was some time ago, and nowadays we would probably - in that situation have a proper medic, because we were so far away from assistance. But, it wasn't a role that would normally be undertaken. So I think I was mainly looking after the camp, the TRG, who actually found him, are medically trained as well. So they were able to give that immediate assistance on the - at the scene. Yeah.
[Male Narrator] Are you looking to go a little out of your comfort zone and expand your world? Become an emergency services volunteer in Western Australia and gain some incredible skills. Be there on the frontline to help your local community when an emergency strikes. Or join the important teams who work behind the scenes to make a difference. DFES Volunteering. Give a little. Gain a lot. Visit DFES.vol.org.au to find out how you can join.
[Silvana] You're listening to Mics & Sirens. I'm here with Maxine. Burrell talking about volunteering in emergency services. What is the best part about being a volunteer for you?
[Maxine] For me? Well, I get to go anywhere and everywhere. Places I've never heard of. I get to work with like-minded people. I mean, the people that you're out there with, whatever the conditions we're in, are there because they want to be there. Nobody's counting their overtime or counting the hours. They've all put their hand up to be there, and they're all there for the same reason.
[Silvana] And you don't get paid.
[Maxine] And we don't get paid. [Laughs] We get fed a lot.
[Silvana] So you do it for that, you know, being part of a team and just having fun.
[Maxine] Yeah. And the people you get to meet and work with are just amazing.
[Silvana] Is there a typical day as a volunteer?
[Maxine] Not really. I think sometimes you can go days, sometimes weeks with nothing happening, and then the proverbial happens and it's all on. So...
[Silvana] How do you get activated? Can you talk me through an activation?
[Maxine] So we will first get a text message for a general request for assistance. Or if it's for a specific - so I'm a search commander and I'm also an air observer, so we might get a direct call to say for that role. We'll respond and say yes or no, that we're available, and then we just kind of, then we're waiting for the nod to actually turn out. So in the meantime, we'll - I'll go and get dressed. I'll grab a banana or a muesli bar or something if I haven't eaten and just start mentally preparing for what might come ahead, yeah.
[Silvana] So when you go to an incident, how does that work? What - are you tasked as soon as you get there?
[Maxine] So generally, we know - we go as a team and we would've already allocated a team leader, depending on what the job is. So if it's a search, there are various roles within a team. So the navigation, communications, first aid, that sort of thing. So, we'll have in our mind who's doing what. And you're sort of mentally, you're preparing for that on the way to the search.
[Silvana] What kind of preparation would you go through for yourself?
[Maxine] Depending on what the role is. So, preparation is whether you're mentally or physically ready for that role. So obviously we, you know, we're all volunteers. We have time off. We're not sitting there waiting for the phone to ring. So, obviously if you're at a party having a few drinks, you're not going to turn out. So yeah, you've got to look at fatigue management and that sort of thing. Some people might look at what the job is and it might not be for them. For instance, some people are probably wary about looking for missing children. That might hit a nerve somewhere. So, you've got to see if the job's right for you. Yeah.
[Silvana] Have you ever had an instance where you've had to turn down a personal commitment because you've been activated, you know, on that day?
[Maxine] Probably. I mean, I've got a very patient husband who does all the cooking, and we have - we've had the odd lunch, Sunday lunch that he's had to continue by himself. [Laughs] But generally, if you've got something important coming up, we would notify our duty officer that we're not available for a period of time, and then you wouldn't be called. So.
[Silvana] What type of skills have you gained in your role as a volunteer?
[Maxine] Wow. So, lots of "boy" skills. I know, you know, I didn't know how to handle a drill or a saw, or whatever before I went. I couldn't climb up a ladder.
[Silvana] What do you use a drill or saw for?
[Maxine] For roof repairs.
[Silvana] Oh, yeah.
[Maxine] Yeah. I can now climb up a ladder and get on a roof. And I used to have a terrible fear of heights. I think I've learned how to lead a team and be part of a team. And I've also learned about myself that I actually like both roles. So, and I've had a - get a good appreciation for what all the other agencies, how they all interact in a big incident and all their roles as well.
[Silvana] Do you find that you can automatically switch from volunteer mode to work mode or wife mode? Is that kind of an easy transition between the different roles in your life?
[Maxine] I think the uniform helps. I think when you've got a uniform on, you have a bit of a facade maybe, or you just - you're in that role. I think if I'm not in uniform. For instance, if I'm in uniform and I come across an accident, then I feel compelled to do something. If I'm not in uniform, I'm quite happy to let the professionals get on with the job, but, yeah.
[Silvana] So what does your husband say about being married to a volunteer? Like you said he's patient.
[Maxine] He's very patient. I think, he's very used to me just getting up and going. He's very supportive. I've got a very supportive extended family as well that are used to seeing me run off at the drop of a hat.
[Silvana] Have you had instances where you've taken off from a family event or something?
[Maxine] Yeah, yeah, I think - they're all, “There she's off again.”
[Silvana] Yeah. They're expecting it?
[Maxine] Yeah. Yeah.
[Silvana] So what would you say to other people who may be considering volunteering?
[Maxine] I'd say just do it. Just, it's - you get what you put in, you get out of it. It's what you put in. I think you just embrace it. You meet so many people, you get to go to so many places. I've seen pretty much the whole of Australia. I've worked with amazing people as I've said before. Learnt new skills. You get to try things, and if you fail, nobody tells you off. You're learning all the time. Yeah.
[Silvana] You are also a DFES staff member. You're a district officer. What's that like? And doing both roles.
[Maxine] So for me, I'm acting district officer. And the opportunity came about through my SES role. So I was very, very lucky to have a district officer that would pull me out, into incident management roles as a support, as a shadow. So I got to learn heaps and to get the other - to see the other side of incidents. So that prepared me quite well for this role.
Now that I'm retired completely from nursing, I'm available. So I guess that allows them to tap me on the shoulder when they want to do leave relief. And it gives me the opportunity to see both sides. It's a natural hazards district officer role. So I've got the understanding and the experience of an SES person so I can appreciate where they're coming from. And I think that puts me in a good position to look after their needs.
[Silvana] With emergency services volunteering, there are roles that people can do that aren't on the frontline. Do you want to talk about those roles as well?
[Maxine] Yeah, absolutely. We need background people. We need people to help us run the unit. We need admin, bookkeeping, even someone that can make a mean toasted sandwich when we all come in dripping wet from a storm callout. Amazing. Yeah.
[Silvana] What has been the best thing for you about being a State Emergency Services volunteer?
[Maxine] I think the best thing is the people that I work with, the like-minded people that I work with, and just meet so many people.
[Silvana] And will you continue doing it for a while?
[Maxine] As long as I'm able. [Laughs]
[Silvana] Thank you so much for joining me.
[Maxine] Thank you.
[Male Narrator] Are you looking for fast, accurate and official information that helps you to make informed decisions to stay safe during an emergency? The Department of Fire and Emergency Services Emergency WA app lets you set up watch zones for places important to you. So if an emergency happens in your watch zone, you'll receive alerts and warnings. The best part? It's sent direct to your mobile device. Download DFES' Emergency WA app from the App Store or Google Play today.
[Silvana] This is Mics & Sirens. I'm Silvana Pulitano. In the next episode, we go behind the scenes with a fire investigator. Visit the show notes of this episode for more information.