The unseen NTES heroes who answered the call when tropical cyclone Fina was bearing down
Northern Territory emergency volunteers worked through the night during Tropical Cyclone Fina, highlighting the unsung heroes who answer phones while communities shelter from danger. Read the details.
It was a gloomy Saturday evening, and Tropical Cyclone Fina was hours from making landfall.
The Northern Territory Emergency Services call centre was open until 7pm, when the roads become too dangerous to travel on.
Someone needed to answer the phones through the night, Palmerston Volunteer Unit acting unit officer Cassie Brown said.
While the rest of the coastal Top End secured loose items in their yards and families gathered indoors, Ms Brown and fellow volunteer Vicki Simlesa bedded down at the Palmerston facility.
They caught a few hours’ sleep before the phones started ringing again at 7am.
Ms Brown said the administrative tasks performed by she and Ms Brown often flew under the radar when people considered volunteering.
Behind them, she says, is an entire team of people answering phones, managing radio communications, logging assistance requests, coordinating logistics, and running the administrative machinery that makes disaster response possible.
“You do not have to be mobile to be able to do all of these roles. You do not have to be strong and fit and all of those things,” Ms Brown said.
After retiring from an emergency services career in Queensland, Ms Simlesa joined NTES just over a year ago.
At nearly 60, she described herself as “past my prime.”
Yet, her reasoning for volunteering contradicted that self-assessment
“I believe I have skills that I can offer the community and this is the way I see I can do it,” she said.
She ticks off three benefits of volunteering on her fingers: friendships formed with fellow volunteers (she points at Ms Brown), new skills acquired through training, and the satisfaction of giving back.
“This is my opportunity to give back to what was given to me when I was young,” she said.
Deputy Chief Officer Operations for NTES Adam White, who has been showing up since he was 15 years old, said he wanted to emphasise that point, adding volunteering has “shaped” his life.
“The camaraderie, the teamwork, and then the mentorship I got from that is actually what has led me through my military career and now into this career,” he says.
Mr White urged people to consider volunteering.
“I come from a small country town where everyone chips in when it gets a bit hard,” he said.
“So I like to think that what I do helps the community out. It’s kind of for the greater good.”
Friday marks International Volunteers Day, and Mr White used the occasion to deliver a message on behalf of the NTES Chief Officer: “Your time and effort and contributing to your community is valued and underappreciated sometimes, but we would like to say thank you.”
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