Pride of Australia awards nominee Susan Allan has seen it all as St John Ambulance Brigade volunteer

FROM using butter to slide an overweight pony out of a mechanics' pit to cutting prisoners out of a rolled Corrective Services van, nothing much surprises Susan Allan anymore.

Pride of Australia - Susan Allan

FROM using butter to slide an overweight pony out of a mechanics' pit to cutting prisoners out of a rolled Corrective Services van, nothing much surprises Susan Allan anymore.

The 28-year veteran of the Lithgow Volunteer Rescue Association (VRA) has witnessed some of the most amazing survival stories but, in turn, has also seen unspeakable tragedy.

"They say you always remember your first job with the rescue squad," the 47-year-old said.

"My first job was at the bottom of Riverlet Hill (on the Great Western Hwy) - three deceased people under a semi-trailer.

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"A car had pulled out in front of the semi-trailer and there were (body parts) everywhere.

First aid has been in Ms Allan's veins since she began volunteering with the St John Ambulance Brigade as a 13-year-old, treating go-kart, pony club and other weekend sporting injuries.

She joined the Lithgow VRA when she left school and worked as an assistant in a nursing home while continuing to be an instructor with St John.

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Ms Allan continued her medical training and in 1997 she became a registered nurse working - where else - but in emergency departments.

Despite being diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, a connective tissue disorder that affects her joints, Ms Allan still devotes every waking minute to her three loves - nursing, instructing and rescue.

She has been nominated for the Community Spirit Medal in The Daily Telegraph's Pride of Australia awards.

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"If you volunteer it's better than any paid job," she said.

"The satisfaction of pulling someone out of a car that looks unrecognisable and knowing you've got them out alive is the greatest feeling."

While most of the jobs involve car accidents, Ms Allan has responded to everything from injured base jumpers to wombats stuck in drains and a pony that got wedged in a mechanics' pit after a teenager rode it into a garage.

Unlike the State Emergency Service or the Rural Fire Service, the VRA gets no government funding and is totally reliant on the generosity of the public and the hardworking volunteers such as Ms Allan, who mans barbecues, raffle stalls and "begs for their squad's very survival".

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