After serving the Parramatta community and beyond for nearly 30 years, NSW State Emergency Service (SES) volunteer George Jeoffreys has much to be proud of.
But his most treasured achievement in his SES journey is not the storms and floods he's responded to or the years of service; it's witnessing his three children, Tahlia (24), Mack (21) and Zari (17) follow in his footsteps.
Mr Jeoffreys joined the NSW SES Parramatta Unit with his wife, Neisha, in 1998 and has responded to some of the state's largest weather events.
He recalls busy operational periods like the 2002 Parramatta storms, when the Unit was responding for three weeks straight, supporting the Blacktown community during the 2007 hailstorm and being deployed to Western NSW to help out during flooding.
Mr Jeoffreys said his kids have been around the Unit their whole life, with Mack and Zari joining when they turned 16, and Tahlia joining slightly later.
"Seeing these guys come through and get their skills up, and Mack becoming a trainer, that's absolutely the proudest moment for me," Mr Jeoffreys said.
Tahlia Jeoffreys joined the NSW SES Parramatta Unit in March last year, but recalls developing an interest in the service during childhood when she would hear her father's pager go off.
"Dad was on the first storm job I ever went to, which was a tree on the home of a person living with a disability. We had to get the tree off the roof and put a tarp on," Tahlia said.
"But when we go out on jobs together, he's George, not Dad!"
For Zari Jeoffreys, seeing her two older siblings volunteer with their father made her feel left out, so it was a no brainer that she would sign up as soon as she turned 16.
"I knew the phonetic alphabet by the age of four and by eight I knew how to tie all my knots," Zari said.
Mr Jeoffreys said having one of his kids on his team when responding to an incident was really special.
"You become a colleague rather than a parent, but you do have that moment when you see them climbing up on the ladder and getting on the roof and you're like "that's my girl!"
It's a similar feeling for Thong Phabmixay, who joined the NSW SES Parramatta Unit in 2015, and was thrilled when his daughter, Tiana (19), decided to join the Service last year.
"I've responded during some large storms here in the Parramatta region, where we've been operational for five to six days in a row. I've also deployed to Bourke to support during flooding and was a flood rescue operator in Taree last year," Mr Phabmixay said.
For Tiana, watching her father volunteer during the state's largest weather events sparked her interest in getting involved herself.
Mr Phabmixay said volunteering alongside Tiana has been one of his proudest moments, on par with witnessing her be crowned Karate Kata World Champion in the United Kingdom earlier this year.
"I'd be lying if I said it didn't bring a tear to me eye!"
Also volunteering together at the NSW SES Parramatta Unit is father-daughter duo Scott Lloyd and Lauren Lloyd.
Mr Lloyd joined the NSW SES 12 years ago and has since supported communities across the state, including during the Hawkesbury Nepean floods in 2022 and clean-up efforts in Taree last year.
Eager to follow in her father's footsteps, Lauren (17) signed up right on her 16th birthday.
"I've always wanted to be out helping people and getting to hear what dad did during different incidents made me want to be part of that too," she said.
Mr Lloyd said he's pleased to see Lauren follow in his footsteps and join the orange family.
"We've done some simple tree jobs together, and it's great to be able to teach Lauren what to do and how to communicate with the residents," he said.
While these three father and children teams have their own strong family ties within the Unit, they all agreed that the NSW SES is one "big orange family" and encouraged others to consider volunteering.
"The team here at Parramatta is really close - you do become like a second family," Mr Jeoffreys said.
"When my kids go out on jobs, I know they are being looked after. It's a tight-knit team."
