'You take a deep breath': SES commander opens up about being a first responder

Eden SES unit commander Paul Cortese said a lot of what the crews covered on the Far South Coast was vastly different to his previous service in the ACT.

"Having to do a road crash rescue course, I never thought I would have to do that," Mr Cortese told Bega District News.

"Even when I moved here, I never thought that was going to be something I would be involved in."

While SES was usually only known for responding to storm emergencies, he said the unit often assisted with road incidents to retrieve and extract victims.

"There was a fatality on Mt Darragh Road a few months ago, so we got called for scene lighting for that. But then we extracted the fellow out of the car as well," he said.

"It is quite tough, and for that particular one, the roof was crushed a bit and already half off.

"You take a deep breath when you lift because you're not sure what you're going to see.

"It wasn't confronting, but you're handling a deceased person."

Mr Cortese said it was hard work to get the accreditation and assisting in such emergencies had been distressing.

But he shared how the State Emergency Service had a great peer support and chaplaincy network.

Although his credentials were perfect for his leadership role, with experience in both emergency management and disaster welfare, Mr Cortese felt the continuous training with SES was beneficial.

"We are volunteers. Some of the young people are tied up in lessons, and an apprentice chef couldn't get out today.

"Everyone has careers and they can't always be available, so you've got to be a generalist [in knowledge]," he said.

"We have done road crash rescue training, land search training, a storm course before people can get on the roof and do repairs, vertical rescue training, and chainsaw accreditation.

"We train every Thursday night, and it focuses on the skills that we've got."

From spelling words in radio communication using the NATO phonetic alphabet, to assisting in locating missing persons, and even retrieving a cow that was stuck in a dam, SES volunteers continuously train.

"[South Coast Police District Chief Inspector] Shane Jessep just rings me up and says, 'I don't know if this is you, but can you help us?', so we do. We do whatever they want," Mr Cortese said.

To learn more about how you can be part of the State Emergency Service, click here