It’s not often you have eight different rescues to perform in one day, but that’s exactly what happened to Ballina SES volunteer Coen Acret over the weekend.

Coen and several other members of the Ballina SES Unit were testing their training and skills at the NSW State Emergency Service Disaster Rescue Challenge at the Endeavour Energy Training Facility in Liverpool.

The Ballina team was among eight units from across New South Wales to qualify for the state finals after winning its regional competition. More than 70 SES volunteers took part in the two-day event, tackling eight high-pressure rescue scenarios based around a simulated mass-casualty flash flooding emergency.

The realistic exercises included rescuing casualties from heights at a transformer station, evacuating occupants from a house and assisting people from an underground bunker. Each scenario was designed to test participants’ technical rescue skills, teamwork, leadership and decision-making under pressure.

For Mr Acret, who joined the Ballina SES in 2023, the challenge provided valuable experience that closely mirrors the work volunteers undertake across the Northern Rivers.

“In Ballina, we respond to a mixture of hazards including riverine and flash flooding, whilst also providing the local general land rescue service,” he said.

“Our main workload for rescues is gaining entry for Ambulance or assisting them to carry out patients, which are both skills practised at a Disaster Rescue Challenge.”

Mr Acret said the event exposed volunteers to rescue situations that are difficult to recreate during routine training.

“At the Challenge, you get to practise your critical thinking skills and situational awareness before taking it to the real world and applying it to an operational task,” he said.

“There aren’t many opportunities where you can respond to eight different rescue incidents in one day and really put your skills, critical thinking and teamwork to the test.”

Alongside volunteering with the SES, Mr Acret is studying paramedicine and said the practical experience gained through the organisation complemented his university studies.

“That opportunity to communicate with people that I haven’t met before and the skills that I haven’t learnt in university yet, like knowing what a rescue scene looks like, is really valuable,” he said.

The Disaster Rescue Challenge has been a fixture on the NSW SES training calendar since 1988 and is designed to strengthen the operational readiness of volunteers before they respond to real emergencies.

About 110 additional SES volunteers and specialists helped deliver this year’s event, with realistic mock injuries applied to role players to make the rescue scenarios as authentic as possible. Participants also completed specialist training with Endeavour Energy on safely working around electrical infrastructure during floods, storms and other emergencies.

NSW SES Chief Superintendent Jake McDonald said the challenge gave volunteers an opportunity to put their rescue knowledge into practice in a demanding but supportive environment.

“The complex scenarios reflect the wide range of incidents our volunteers respond to every day, from severe storms and land searches, to delicate rescue operations that demand strong communication and collaboration,” he said.

“Exercises like this are vital in strengthening our operational readiness across the service.”

Photo: The Ballina SES Unit tested their training and skills at the NSW State Emergency Service Disaster Rescue Challenge at the Endeavour Energy Training Facility in Liverpool at the weekend. Coen Acret is at the far right of the photo.