Cadets rise to the occasion

A group of emergency service cadets from across the State travelled to Tom Price this month to take part in a skills building and leadership camp.

The 20 cadets took part in the 2020 Senior Cadet Leadership Camp in Tom Price from October 1 to 7.

The cadets ranged in age from 14 to 18 and comprised of bushfire brigade cadets, volunteer fire and rescue cadets, State Emergency Services cadets, emergency services cadet corps and youth in emergency services program cadets from all around WA.

Activities included abseiling and roping through gorges in Karijini National Park, trekking up Mount Bruce, climbing Mount Nameless, visiting a Rio Tinto mine site and also being in Karijini while a real life gorge rescue of a seven-year-old boy was under way.

The cadets also participated in a multi-agency scenario involving a mock explosion at the high school science lab.

Tom Price emergency service cadet unit leader Nicole Kelly said the cadets had to coordinate the response across a variety of services including SES, fire, police and ambulance.

“That was well received by the kids and that was a three-hour scenario,” she said.

“A lot of these cadets haven’t seen full scenarios with multi agencies involved. So it was nice to showcase that and nice for the kids to take on those leadership roles.”

Ms Kelly said she hoped the cadets learnt a number of leadership and communication skills during the camp.

“I hope they took away the ability to communicate and work with others that they have never worked with before. How different services work. How country towns pull together in times of emergency,” she said.

“Some of these young men and women are certainly future leaders in whatever service they decide to join in the future in their towns.”