Night Watch: Crime scenes to fallen trees, SES’ Phil Wall has seen it all
SES volunteers are often called out late to help with storm damage and road crashes. But sometimes they’re required at more sinister events in the depths of night. Veteran Phil Wall reveals what it was like arriving at a stabbing in Chelsea Heights.
Inner South
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Phil Wall is used to being woken at all hours of the night by his pager.
That’s just part of the role of being an SES volunteer.
The SES veteran of 17 years rolls over and scrambles to stop the persistent beeping from waking his wife Maryann and daughter Kimba.
The clock next to his bed reads 3.43am.
Mr Wall has been called to Chelsea Heights to assist police with a crime scene.
At the scene, a serious assault has taken place and the victim rushed to hospital with life-threatening injuries.
“You have no idea what the job will be when the pager goes off, you just rub your eyes and try and get dressed,” Mr Wall said.
“I have a kit of gear ready to go, it includes lighting, bollards, a camera and other things I might need.
“I double check the address, work out the quickest way to get there and jump in the car.
“On the way there I still have no idea what I’m going to see, what I am going to be confronted with.”
It takes Mr Wall about five minutes to arrive at the Chelsea Heights venue.
“There were a lot of police, so it was obvious something major had happened,” he said.
“I go and introduce myself to the officer in charge and find out what needs to be done.
“At that point I was told there had been a serious assault on a gentleman and he had life-threatening injuries.”
Mr Wall’s mind goes into overdrive thinking about what other SES members will need to bring to the scene.
At the same time he is doing a risk assessment of the area.
He’s also working out if it’s a difficult or traumatic scene and how to prepare younger members who haven’t done this before about what to expect.
“The minute the team arrives the planning is done, I know exactly what everyone is doing and where they need to go,” he said.
“There is a different ambience about working in the depths of night, everything seems amplified, you can hear everything, the reds and blues reflect through the fog, it’s a bit eerie.”
Mr Wall’s said sometimes at crime scenes member were asked to conduct searches for evidence or even weapons.
On big jobs like this one there is an adrenaline rush, but it’s not overwhelming, he said.
“We wanted to give police the best environment possible to do their investigation to the best of their ability,” he said.
“We’re also aware of the size of the job, and that it means family or friends could arrive at any time.
“It’s the worst night of these people’s lives, so we try and protect their privacy and dignity, and show empathy as much as we can.”
When he has a moment, Mr Wall calls his wife to let her know he’s OK and will be home when he can.
Arriving home as most people go to work is all part of the job.
“Part of the commitment to the community is you don’t finish at 5pm,” Mr Wall said.
“Sometimes you get home soaked after being called out at 1am in the rain, get home and get another call after you’ve been in bed for 10 minutes.
“So you put on your drenched uniform and head back out.”
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