THE stretch of the South Gippsland Highway between Lang Lang and the other side of Korumburra is known for its serious collisions.
And the network of country roads, from Strzelecki to Inverloch and everywhere else in between, many of them hilly, often wet and winding, and not always in good condition, host their share of crashes too.
Often, the only thing that stands between life and death in those situations is the Loch CFA Road Accident Rescue Service.
It’s been that way for almost 40 years, from humble beginnings, with a handful of tools in a second-hand fire tender, to the arrival three months ago of a $1.2 million, dedicated Hino, road rescue and industrial rescue truck, which has already been rolled out with distinction to a dozen rescues since it came online.
“It’s a known thing, in the ambulance service, with police and road rescue circles, that regrettably this is an area of serious road accidents, and our response history will tell you that,” said Loch Fire and Rescue Captain Len Wyhoon at the weekend.
And it’s not just on the road. Many hazards exist on farms and in workplaces in the local area.
“Since the truck came online, we’ve had a dozen rescues including three entrapments, the first of those coming three days after it was ready to go,” said Len.
“It’s a replacement for the old one, but this one is state of the art, with all the cutters, spreaders and other equipment you need. I’ll never see the likes of it again anyway.”
The feature of an event last Saturday morning was the dedication of the new rescue vehicle in honour of one of the absolute stalwarts of road accident rescue in Victoria, Loch’s own John Kennedy, for almost 70 years a CFA and road rescue volunteer, and thankfully, at somewhere close to 90 years-of-age he was there to see the day.
Veteran rescue operator, Greg Barry, provided the context with a brief history of the unit, from the tragic and compelling circumstances which initiated the local rescue service, to its lowest point, when the group’s most knowledgeable operator, Lieutenant Alan Jackson, was killed in a tractor accident, in February 1995 aged 33, and their undisputed high point on Saturday.
“It was 39 years ago last Tuesday, on August 5, 1986, that a girl who went to school at Loch, and also taught there, by then a mother of three, Janette Loughridge (Burgess), was killed in an accident on the Grantville-Glen Alvie Road at Almurta. Two women were trapped and the Loch Fire Brigade turned out, but they had to wait for an hour and a half for a rescue unit to arrive,” said Greg.
The Loughridge family had only recently adopted three children so the circumstances of the incident could not have been more tragic.
It was too much for John Kennedy, and the others who attended the scene, driving a single-minded determination to set up a road accident rescue service locally.
John Kennedy joined the Loch Fire Brigade in 1956 and was captain from 1967 to 1994, a period of 27 years.
Having attended several fatal accidents in that time, John was the driving force for setting up the unit, but he had plenty of support, most notably from his lieutenants Alan Jackson and Peter Izzard, who came back on Saturday, and Officer in Charge of Rescue Paul Knox.
At a general meeting of the Loch CFA in May 1987, the decision was taken to form a combined unit with the Korumburra brigade, but in the event that didn’t happen, they would go it alone. The rest, as they say, is history, a legacy of incredible service to the people of South Gippsland and visitors to the area.
John reflected on how the unit started and what it had achieved since, but humbled by the honour, he also offered a simple thank you at the end of the event, attended by CFA District 9 Commander Simon Bloink, and Strzelecki Ward Councillors Nathan Hersey and Bronwyn Beach.
The Minister for Emergency Services and Minister for Natural Disaster Recovery, The Hon Vicki Ward, sent her congratulations to the unit and warm regards to the man of the hour, John Kennedy.
John S. Kennedy and the Loch Rescue Trucks
By Greg Barry
John Kennedy joined the Loch Fire Brigade in 1956 and was Captain from 1967 to 1994, a period of 27 years. The brigade had attended several fatal and serious accidents over the years, some that had to wait for the SES from Warragul to attend, sometimes over an hour away. Rescues in those days were often left up to the local tow truck driver who only carried a couple of chains, a crowbar and a sledgehammer.
Following a serious accident on the 5th August 1986, 39 years ago last Tuesday, that claimed the life of a young mother of three who had grown up at Loch, attended the Loch Primary School and later taught there. At the next general meeting of the Loch CFA, the need for a Rescue unit was raised, and a feasibility study was conducted. In May 1987 Loch and Korumburra Brigades nominated to form a combined Road Accident Rescue Unit. At a special meeting of the Loch Brigade a motion was passed “that we form an RAR Committee in conjunction with Korumburra Brigade to cover the Korumburra Ambulance area subject to Korumburra CFA agreement. Should Korumburra withdraw we go ahead on our own.”
In March 1988, Korumburra withdrew and the CFA approved Loch set up a Road Accident Rescue Unit as soon as possible under the leadership of Captain John Kennedy. Estimated cost would be around $100,000.
After some generous donations from local families and the sale of railway sleepers from the disused Nyora to Wonthaggi Railway line things got moving. The sleepers were collected and sorted by brigade members and stacked in the Kennedy farm front paddock where some were cut into firewood and others went to garden suppliers far and wide. The sleepers raised $20,000 enough to buy the tools necessary for a basic rescue truck.
The old fire tender from the Heidelberg Repatriation Hospital, a C1300 International was purchased, stripped and rebuilt as a rescue truck by brigade members under the guidance of Fred Tay and was commissioned in November 1989.
Initial rescue training for Loch members was done by some members of the Melton CFA Rescue, and later by some members of the Dandenong CFA Rescue Units.
The brigade was officially accredited by the Combined Emergency Services Committee as a Road Accident Rescue Unit in August 1989. Captain John Kennedy, Lieutenants Alan Jackson and Peter Izzard worked hard to ensure we had the best equipment and training available from the beginning. Paul Knox was made Officer in Charge of Rescue, a job he held until 2001 when Peter Sullivan took over and he still holds this position 24 years later. Both Paul and Peter have insured all operators always worked under the brigade's code of ethics of dignity, care and respect at all times.
Old cars were collected and stored on the Kennedy farm for training, then sold off for scrap. The brigade training yard at Kennedy’s is an eyesore to some people but it does bring in between $15,000 and $25,000 per year for the brigade to update equipment.
As I spoke to John last Tuesday he was clearly very proud of the rescue unit he worked so hard to get on the road. The Loch Rescue Unit was often referred to as the busiest rural rescue unit in the state. We also spoke of the lowest point in the Loch Rescue's history which was the loss of popular local and top rescue operator Lieutenant Alan Jackson in a tractor accident on 9th February 1995. Alan was just 33, a married father of three and the eldest had just started school the week before the accident. This really rocked the brigade and the whole community. Alan’s funeral in Loch was the biggest ever seen in the town. It makes everyone realise you don’t know what to expect when the pager goes off or how long they will be away. We have been to accidents that have lasted 10 to 12 hours.
The little International C1300 did a great job as our first rescue truck at the start but as equipment levels increased it was noted that the truck was operating at well above its legal limit and there was a need for a bigger, more modern rescue unit.
In December 1993, the old Dandenong Heavy Rescue Truck was supplied to Loch and this was a big improvement.
John resigned as Captain after 27 years to concentrate on training as he saw this as the most important part of brigade efficiency.
From a bloke who knew a bloke, we at Loch Rescue were given the chance to train at the GMH Proving Ground at Lang Lang from the mid 1990’s. This was the start of manufacturers making cars safer and stronger and we had the latest cars from General Motors from around the world to train with. We at Loch had the Proving Ground to ourselves for three or four years, then got Mirboo North, Fish Creek and Lakes Entrance along. Eventually the State Rescue Association began running State training weekends there for all the CFA Rescue Units in Victoria. This was a great learning weekend for everyone including the car builders who had to consider the rescuers whilst making their cars safer and stronger.
Another part of training for the rescuers at Loch was from local ambo Stan Hewerdine from Korumburra who had had first hand experience for many years with MVA’s and was always greatly appreciated by all of us.
In the early days with the Rescue the ambulance would arrive with just a driver and one of the rescuers would then drive the ambulance to the hospital or the helicopter while the ambo in the back cared for the patient, sometimes two.
Our third Rescue truck arrived in 2001, a twin cab Isuzu Heavy rescue ex-Dandenong again. Again a big improvement and has served us well for the past 25 years until now and the arrival of our first brand new truck. The Isuzu had a lot of equipment updates over the years and has been a big part of our changeover to battery powered tools.
In the first 15 years of the Loch Rescue operation, the brigade attended on average 5 to 6 fatalities per year with a peak in 1998 of 9 fatalities. Since early 2000 the numbers have decreased to having one year with no fatalities. This is due to improved roads ie. duplication of the Bass Highway, bypass of Loch and Bena, more passing lanes, cable safety barriers, and the stronger safer cars i.e. airbags, safer seatbelts and electronic stability control in most new cars.
In closing, I would like to thank John for his input to the Rescue Unit. The last time I recall John attending an accident was to a tractor accident on Soldiers Road Loch. I rang the farmer’s wife on Wednesday to check on the date for John’s story. She said: “5th of September seven years ago. I thought you were going to tell me there had been another accident. I’m in Sth Africa and its 5am.”
After apologising and finishing the call I did a quick calculation and worked out that John would have been 81 when he drove the rescue truck that day, 62 years after joining the brigade. Next year will mark 70 years as a brigade member for both John and also Willie Hunter.
In closing thank you John for all you have done for the brigade, the Rescue Unit, our wider community and all those who travel through our part of South Gippsland.
