Commenced last evening, the swift water training exercise will see more than 40 NSW SES members, from across Greater Sydney, take part in a variety of rescue scenarios in the natural rapids at Bonnie Vale over three winter nights.
It comes after a busy financial year for the NSW SES, with back-to-back severe weather events keeping volunteers on their toes.
NSW SES responded to more than 54,000 calls for assistance in the 24/25 financial year, including over 1,000 flood rescues. That's a significant increase compared to the previous financial year, where the NSW SES responded to nearly 30,000 incidents, including 434 flood rescues.
NSW SES Assistant Commissioner Dean Storey said many of the members involved in the Bonnie Vale training have been consecutively deployed across the state to support during recent weather events.
"These members have returned home after responding to the Mid North Coast floods, Cyclone Alfred and Western NSW flooding, and they're completing this training on their own watch," Assistant Commissioner Storey said.
"It's an incredible display of their dedication to ensuring their skills are up to scratch so they can continue saving lives and keeping communities safe."
The training tests the skills of participants by utilising the fast-flowing waters of Bonnie Vale to closely replicate the environment and natural hazards experienced in real-life flood emergencies.
"Completing this hazardous training at nighttime prepares flood rescue operators for any scenario they face. It also builds interoperability among our members, so they are best prepared to respond to real-life flood emergencies together" Assistant Commissioner Storey said.
Drone Operators are also putting their nighttime flying skills to the test, practising techniques such as using thermal imaging to spot victims in the water.
NSW SES Chief Remote Pilot Euan Mckenzie said the training is a fantastic opportunity for some of the agency's new remote pilots to refine their skills.
"We saw the success of using drones to drop off critical medicine during the recent flooding event and are continuing to look at ways to expand our program," Mr Mckenzie said.
"The remote pilots and flood rescue crews are using this training to continue to build on our capability to be more seamless when working together operationally."
