A rescue operator at Dubbo with 15 years’ experience in the field has never seen anything bigger than Tuesday’s horror crash on the Newell Highway.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Two teens lost their lives and another 11 people received injuries in the incident involving seven vehicles north of the city.
Dubbo Rescue Squad captain David Chenhall told of the massive task that faced emergency services crews when they arrived at the scene near the Broadacre Road turnoff on Tuesday.
He said it had involved four completely separate rescues that needed to be facilitated simultaneously.
“Every vehicle had one person trapped inside and... they all needed extricating at the same time,” he said.
“In my 15 years of rescue in Dubbo I haven’t seen anything bigger than this.”
On a warm afternoon crews set about the delicate tasks of releasing trapped people.
Operators were rotated to help them cope with the conditions and fatigue, Mr Chenhall said.
“Four hours is a massive time, a long time to be constantly doing a rescue operation,” he said.
The scale of the call-out required as many hands on deck as possible and all agencies working together.
“It was a full-on emergency,” Mr Chenhall said.
“A coordinated response with everyone involved doing what we need to do at the right time.”
He said it was why all the emergency services held joint training exercises and formulated responses.
“[On Tuesday], without those plans in place, it would not have had the desired outcome,” Mr Chenhall said.
After the incident the squad, made up of trained volunteers, were going to have debriefing and counselling would be available.
There would also be a full debrief with police and Fire and Rescue NSW in the coming weeks.
NSW Ambulance acting Superintendent Chris Wilson said seven crews were initially deployed to the scene, as well as two helicopters.
“They were faced with a horrific scene and very hot dry conditions and… a large number of patients, ranging from your basic walking wounded to your more serious patients requiring transport to a trauma hospital,” he said on Thursday.
A paramedic for 20 years, he said when you spent time with a patient, you developed “some sort of personal relationship and rapport” with them.
Later, that could pose challenges for the paramedic.
“..which is why we focus very heavily on our peer support and case debriefing to help the paramedics to come to terms with the jobs they’ve just undertaken…as an organisation we run debriefs after such incidents,” he said.