The NSW State Emergency Service (SES) has been running a cadet program with students in Year 9 and 10 from Springwood High School over the last term.
The 13-week program has included learning about storm and flood response, developing emergency management skills and working in a team environment.
Twenty-four students from the school have participated.
“It is an excellent program for young members of society to understand about the SES and volunteering in general,” said John Hughes, Local Controller for the Blue Mountains SES.
“During the program, we put the cadets through some hands-on experiences from climbing ladders, building a sandbag wall and radio communications,” he said.
The cadets were put to the test at a training exercise at the Emergency Services Centre in Katoomba recently.
“At the end of the program, we hope they take away a better understanding of emergency services and even hopefully come back as volunteers later in life,” Mr Hughes said.
The program will conclude in the next few weeks with some further exercises on the Nepean River.
The NSW SES cadet program is conducted by trained volunteers from across western Sydney, who have been coming to Springwood on a weekly basis to share their knowledge.
- An SES volunteer is in a stable condition after he was injured during flood rescue training at Penrith on Sunday.