Upgrade for SES

SES and community volunteers filled thousands of sandbags to keep water out of homes and businesses during last year’s major flood, but the movement of machinery and vehicles took its toll on the yard at the headquarters.

Forbes SES Controller Roc Walshaw said the funds – announced by NSW Government Minister for Justice and Police Troy Grant under ClubGRANTS - would be used to make a hard-stand area for sandbagging and to build a shed for equipment including the the large sandbagging machine and rescue punt. 

The hard stand area will extend to the helipads where helicopters were based throughout the flooding –reducing the frustration of loaded forklifts getting bogged.

“We could only bring the sandbags so far on the forklifts and then we had to move them by hand,” Mr Walshaw said.

“We have spoken about improving this area for a fair while and finally we’ve got some plans drawn up to do that.”

Mr Grant was in Forbes yesterday to announce the funding and meet with local SES volunteers. 

Mr Grant took the opportunity to thank Forbes SES for an outstanding response during the flood.

“The preparedness of Forbes under your stewardship Roc, with all your support along the chain, was second to none and really saved a lot of people from even more adverse impacts,” he said.

Mr Grant said he had been at the SES during the flood and it was obvious that an upgrade of the facilities would improve the efficiency of sandbagging operations and make things easier during adverse weather or at night.

“Some investment into facilities … would certainly enhance your efforts to help minimise the damage to assets, infrastructure, property and ultimately people’s lives,” he said.