SES rescue of Lawrence family hits snag despite Corindi-Woolgoolga’s help

Rescue of Lawrence family hits a snag as Corindi-Woolgoolga SES leader laments ‘one of those days’.

Members of the Corindi-Woolgoolga State Emergency Service unit evacuate a family from a property near Lawrence. The location of the house some 500 m from the river in cane growing fields made the rescue challenging.

It was meant to be a relatively straightforward evacuation, but fast flowing water and endless cane fields made it anything but.

State Emergency Service volunteers from Corindi-Woolgoolga assisted their Grafton colleagues on Wednesday when they were tasked to a rescue at Lawrence, some 500 metres from the Clarence river in cane country.

After loading two adults, four children, some possessions and the family dog into the rescue punt the force of the river, still on the rise, prevented the team exiting the way they came.

After four unsuccessful attempts to leave and seemingly exhausting all options, the team managed to make it close enough to the Lawrence bridge for the family to exit on foot.

That left the crew, led by Corindi Woolgoolga’s Dennis Houghton, with the challenging task of finding a way back to the river.

They didn’t get back for hours and at one stage had to stop and make running repairs on a malfunctioning engine.

“It was one of those days but flood rescue is like that, if you think you can predict it – it doesn’t often turn out that way,” he said.

“When you are in the middle of cane fields it is not the easiest place to navigate.”

“The Clarence when it is flooded is a very tricky river.

Members of the Corindi-Woolgoolga State Emergency Service Unit put their hand up to help their Grafton colleagues this week.

It wasn’t the only tough job they had that day, with the team also having to pull the pin on an attempt to remove a tree which had become wedged against a yacht mooring.

The tree was so heavy attempts to move it were unsuccessful and with “the danger factor” escalating, Mr Houghton had to break the news to the owner there was nothing they could do.

Mr Houghton was happy to assist his fellow SES units and said they have a strong relationship with the Grafton team, of which he is also a member.

Mr Houghton said when he heard the Clarence was on the rise he offered his support.

The team is always on the lookout for new members and anyone interested in joining the Corindi-Woolgoolga unit should visit the State Emergency Service website.