Shoaler represents SA at the 2024 National Disaster Rescue Challenge
Adam Simpson, ICT Support Technician at Shoal Group and volunteer Deputy Operations Response Manager at the Prospect State Emergency Service (SES) unit, proudly represented the South Australian (SA) SES at the biennial National Disaster Rescue Challenge. Hosted by NSW SES, the event brought together emergency services teams from across Australia, allowing them to test their skills, exchange knowledge, and refine techniques essential for effective disaster response.
“We are very proud to have a Shoaler represent their state at the National Disaster Rescue Challenge and grateful for the volunteering Adam does to support our community,” said Shaun Wilson, Shoal CEO. “We take a ‘think globally, act locally’ approach to getting involved in our community with environment and sustainability programs,” explained Shaun. “It’s great to see members of our team excel in other areas, especially one as important as Australia’s emergency response.”
Having earned a position in the South Australian team at the SA State Rescue Challenge, Adam and his Prospect SES colleagues prepared for the Challenge under the guidance of State District Officers and the SES training team. Their efforts culminated in their participation in a series of demanding, realistic disaster scenarios designed to assess and enhance emergency response skills.
The National Disaster Rescue Challenge featured a range of realistic disaster scenarios, including mass casualty simulations, urban search and rescue operations, confined space exercises, first aid situations, and working at heights incidents. For Adam, the competition provided an invaluable chance to not only test his abilities alongside Australia’s best but also to grow through collaboration and mutual learning with other SES units.
“The competition allowed teams to showcase the vital skills needed to respond effectively to emergencies and offered a great networking opportunity to share knowledge,” said Adam.
Image: The SA team preparing for the challenge
The event also provided an opportunity for state teams to showcase new and evolving technologies.
“It’s interesting to see the parallels with Defence, a market Shoal is very familiar with,” said Adam. “The SA SES team showcased our new flood mitigation technology, the DefenCell, which is a barrier system originally developed for military and security applications,” he enthused. “We used the DefenCell to mitigate flooding during the River Murray flood event in late 2022 to early 2023.”
Shoal has a distributed team, working from home and at client sites across Australia and internationally and in our offices in Adelaide and Canberra. Adam is based at Shoal’s head office in Adelaide. Having flexible work hours and the ability to work from home has allowed Adam to respond quickly to emergencies.
“During major storms and flooding events, I am able to work from home,” said Adam. “It allows me to be more responsive and prepared for on call emergencies. Supporting an emergency situation can mean long hours too, so Shoal’s flexible hours mean that I can liaise with my manager to adopt work hours to deliver to both the community and to Shoal. Company management has been really supportive.”
“Adam’s achievements speak volumes for the values that underpin what it means to be a Shoaler, with being bold, sociable and resilient at our core,” reinforced Shaun. “What’s more, we’re very fortunate to have Adam as our Workplace Health and Safety Coordinator at Shoal.”
Congratulations to Adam. The National Disaster Rescue Challenge was held during the last weekend in September in Sydney. It has fostered stronger ties across SES agencies, ultimately equipping Australia’s emergency services to respond more effectively should the need for interagency cooperation arise in the future. To see some of the teams competing in the Challenge, visit the NSW SES and SA State Emergency Services posts on Facebook, and the SA SES team featured here.
Image: Adam at the National Disaster Rescue Challenge
Shoal has been a long term supporter of emergency response and services through the Australian & New Zealand Society of Evidence Based Policing (AANZSEBP) Police Science Journal and The National Firefighter.
Media contact
Lyndal Sterenberg
Marketing
+61 439 687 099
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