One Blue Mountains adventure events business is switching gears as coronavirus hits, in a bid to stay afloat through winter.
Event Safety Services owner Lucas Trihey said his small Medlow Bath-based event support business had lost all work for the coming four months and was now "watching how coronavirus unfolds and doing the little work there still is".
"In the last week we've seen pretty much every event we've been working on for the coming four months cancelled or postponed," he told the Gazette.
"It's been pretty devastating - not just for the business but because most of my great staff are suddenly without work.
His team works in expeditions, mountaineering and outdoor recreation and specialises in endurance races and events in remote areas.
Some of those events include the Big Red Bash music event that sees 9000 people gather near the tiny town of Birdsville on the edge of the Simpson Desert in western Queensland, first aid teams to Meatstock in Melbourne and Sydney, Festival of the Sun at Port Macquarie and to community and city functions such as the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and Cambridge Markets. They even send first aiders to Quiddich competitions at Sydney University and Mr Trihey also provides the medical team for Ultra Trail Australia (UTA), the Six Foot Track Marathon, the Running Wild NSW trail series and the Sydney Trail Series.
Mr Trihey said he was "doing my best to rustle up work in the things we can still do like mapping, event planning and risk management, but the on-site event work just evaporated. We went from having two or three events a week for the next six months to zero."
He said some long standing clients had been very supportive and they were now working on planning and mapping work.
"Tom Landon-Smith from UTA has got us improving their maps and the amazing local committee of volunteers who organises the Running Wild NSW trail running events have also been very supportive."
He said he has about nine or ten casuals working regularly in the office or at events and "quite a few have been to CentreLink as there's simply no other work around".
"My staff are proving to be patient and resilient, many are hunkering down to grow more of their own food and are cutting back on expenses. Greg Donovan the promoter of our biggest annual event The Big Red Bash has been very supportive and is still sending a bit of work our way despite the pressures he's under to cancel or postpone. There's also an amazing sense of community within the event industry with everyone looking after each other. While these conversations won't pay our insurance premiums or business costs they are great for morale. A common theme is that "this won't last forever, we just need to get through winter."
He said he planned to "take the business back to some of the work we did in the past - touring the outback with small groups (although there are even question marks around access to some remote areas) and secondly I'm trying hard to get local and Sydney contracting work and hiring out some of our equipment."
"We've got trucks, utes, trailers, catering gear, light towers and first aid kits and we are good at repairing and maintaining equipment. I'm thinking about fencing, cartage work, a rubbish skip service - basically anything to keep the wheels turning and keep as many of my staff in work as I can."
