KIAMA SES will be a little more prepared for the next storm after attending a chainsaw workshop on Sunday.
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Burnett Trees at Kiama hosted a chainsawing workshop for more than a dozen SES members.
Owner Andrew Burnett hosted the event, which included information on how trees behave in storm and other dangerous situations, and how to use chainsaws during an emergency situation.
Participants were taken to a property in Jamberoo.
The business and SES have had a working relationship for many years, Burnett Trees conducting some of the SES’s tree-related emergency work.
Daniel Pridham, Kiama SES deputy rescue co-ordinator said the activity built on the relationship they’d had for more than ten years. He said the activity was a refresher and to up-skill members.
“We tend to work quite closely, or in the same circles when there is a storm event.
“For SES, whenever there is a storm event and a tree is posing a risk to property or life, or blocking access, then the public can obviously call us.
“Where we can’t deal with that job, either due to the volume of calls or it’s too big a job, that’s where we engage a contractor, so they get the more difficult jobs, or they help us with that surge capacity when we get a massive storm event.
“We might turn up and start to assess something, and work out that’s it’s too big for us, and we need to get the experts in.
“Andrew and his team will come in and take care of that tree job.”
Mr Pridham said they had identified this as a high-risk activity for the unit, and were focused on doing it as safely as possible.
“This is really just a day when we can share our knowledge and skills, and hopefully we can learn a little bit from Andrew about what they do out in the field, and what they find useful from the first responding crews who might be handing a job over.
“They already know how to use a chainsaw in an emergency situation, they’re all qualified.
“This isn’t an official training day; it’s more just a professional development.”
Mr Burnett said the prospect of learning from each other was vital.
“Storm damages are so individual… Some things are just a simple trim, whereas some people have a conception that they can keep every tree, but when we look at the damage it’s not viable to keep that tree, so the whole tree comes out.
“It’s each tree on its merits.
“It might look simple to cut a branch off a storm damaged tree, but the weight is deceptive, the reaction of storm damaged timber is different.
“Any doubt, call someone as opposed to having a go yourself in a storm scenario.”
A representative from Stihl also attended to exhibit some of the new technology available, including a rescue saw.