BENDIGO, VIC. — Victoria State Emergency Service (VICSES) Bendigo Unit volunteers have refined their ability to save lives in their community and gained valuable rescue experience in the process, as part of a large-scale road crash emergency simulation held earlier this month.
Hosted at the VICSES Bendigo Unit’s Golden Square headquarters and involving local members of Fire Rescue Victoria (FRV), the Country Fire Authority (CFA) and Ambulance Victoria (AV), the event saw first responders work together to execute a highly complex rescue following a mock collision involving three vehicles.
The exercise simulated a motorist experiencing a medical episode, leading to a side-impact crash that pinned another vehicle against a bus and left multiple patients trapped.
“Our volunteers work tirelessly to be there for their community when help is needed most and take great pride in the vital service they provide,” VICSES Bendigo Unit Deputy Controller, Training, Jason Hague, said.
While fire services worked to provide initial fire suppression and ensure the motorist’s hybrid vehicle would not pose risk to emergency crews, VICSES volunteers worked to safely gain access and extricate patients from the wreckage, collaborating with partner agencies on scene to safely relocate vehicles where required to survey the pinned vehicle.
Using hand-held hydraulic tools to free trapped persons, volunteers then transferred the patients into the care of paramedics on scene, who were able to carry out individual mock treatments for each.
The training session marked the fourth large-scale, multi-agency exercise coordinated by VICSES Bendigo Unit volunteers in recent years, further strengthening the relationship between members of Bendigo’s emergency response sector and ensuring members have the skills and experience they need to respond efficiently in a real-life emergency.
“By training realistic scenarios and alongside our partner agencies, we ensure our members have the skills, confidence and experience they need to execute complex rescues under time pressure to save lives,” Jason Hague said.
As part of Australia’s largest road crash rescue network, VICSES Bendigo Unit is one of 105 accredited VICSES units across Victoria providing primary road crash rescue services to their communities.
The exercise follows a busy period for VICSES Bendigo Unit volunteers, who responded to more than 100 road crash rescue incidents in their community for the second consecutive financial year in 2025/26.
In doing so, volunteers spent more than 240 hours responding to road crash emergencies, not including the time spent completing weekly training and large-scale exercises.
