Marine search and rescue exercise held off Bremer Bay ahead of busy summer period

Emergency services were put to the test off Bremer Bay last month with a multi-agency marine search and rescue drill. The training exercise was run by the Department of Fire and Emergency Services at Dillon Beach and simulated an operation with multiple casualties. It involved responders from Bremer Bay, Esperance and Hopetoun Marine Rescue, as well as Bremer Bay Volunteer Fire and Emergency Service, Albany Surf Life Saving Club, WA Police, St John WA, the Department of Transport and the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development. Four mannequins were thrown into the water and the agencies were tasked with finding and retrieving the “missing people”. All four were found within three hours. DFES marine services district officer Danial Pell said the scenarios were based on real-life searches that occurred this year at Green Head and Margaret River, where multiple people had been in the water for more than 24 hours. He said if there was a similar incident on the south coast, several rescue groups would be involved in the response. “If we had a multiple-casualty incident...in that case we would get everyone in from Albany to Hopetoun,” Mr Pell said. “It does happen, not that often, but it’s worthwhile practising together and learning how each group works.” Great Southern marine rescue groups responded to 23 incidents in the 2021-22 financial year. Mr Pell said it was important to wear a lifejacket when on a boat or fishing from rocks. “On the south coast, the majority of our incidents are from people rock fishing, getting swept in or just walking along and looking at the scenery and trying to get a selfie and just getting too close to the edge,” he said. “Never turn your back on the waves on a rock.”