By Mikayla van Loon
In the wake of an emergency, volunteers donate their time to respond in whatever capacity needed to provide relief, assistance and support to the affected community.
And while Victoria’s SES crews, with help from CFA members, had their boots on the ground to clear roads, make homes accessible and restore some order to suburbs after Tuesday’s storms, Rapid Relief Team (RRT) volunteers were keeping their fellow volunteers well fed.
Lilydale team labour coordinator Ken McAlpin said the Boronia team kicked off supplying meals on the night of the storms, with Lilydale taking over on Wednesday 14 February.
“Originally, we were called up to provide dinner to the first responders, so SES and also the forestry management guys as well. So we were based at SES Knox,” he said.
“We got about 10 volunteers to put on a barbecue lunch. So we had our RRT signature burgers. We did about 150 to 180 meals somewhere around there and then the same again for dinner.”
RRT local team leader Tom Garrett said the initial call out of needing 220 meals expanded to having two bases, one in Emerald and one in Knox, to provide breakfast, lunch and dinner.
“The SES crews have been working through the night and day to respond to calls for help and clear debris caused by the devastating storm, so the least we could do is make sure they had some hearty food to keep them going,” Mr Garrett said.
As of Thursday 16 February, RRT volunteers from Boronia, Lilydale, Berwick, Melbourne and Warragul had supplied 546 meals in total, with another 525 meals to go on Friday.
Mr McAlpin said for RRT’s volunteers they like to think of cooking a meal as a “little cog in the big wheel” of ensuring the emergency responders can continue their important work.
“A hot meal and refreshments, it’s absolutely key. These guys come in and they’re pretty stuffed from the day, they’ve been on the tools most of them all day,” he said.
“We like to see ourselves putting a smile on those faces, which we manage with a hot meal and a refreshment and then a bit of encouragement. They’re doing good work for us so it’s a little bit of return we can do for them.
“We’re obviously volunteers too but we’re all happy to be there and engage in conversation. Every volunteer has got a little story and there’s all walks of life, so it’s a privilege to serve them and to keep them going, so they can get back out there.”
From bacon and egg rolls, subway sandwiches to burgers, SES crews will continue receiving home cooked meals from RRT as long as the response takes.
“We take our hat off to the SES team volunteering their time. They’ve obviously got jobs too, and families and it’s good to try and put a smile on their face,” Mr McAlpin said.
“We are just glad we could provide some relief to the men and women who give up their time and effort to help others. Seeing the smiles on their faces is our reward,” Mr Garrett said.
