Emergency rescue agencies undergo training activities in Dubbo

With the Australian Road Rescue Organisation (ARRO) providing highly skilled technical specialist rescue instructors to facilitate the training and deliver expert guidance, the organisations were trained on best practice when there is a rail accident.

This training activity was aimed at enhancing the extrication techniques, tactics, and procedures of local and regional emergency services rescue units.

VRA NSW Commissioner Brenton Charlton said the training activity between the emergency services allowed people to learn from one another.

"The ARRO specialist instructors have come down to sell on their knowledge to everybody else, and then all the other agencies can take away the knowledge and pass it on to their teams," he said.

With a number of simulated accidents taking place throughout the day, Mr Charlton said they were practising for both vehicle rail accidents and pedestrian accidents.

"They do happen, particularly around railway crossings, but this is more just about being prepared for anything because we have to make sure all these agencies can come together at any one time and make sure they're 100 percent prepared," he said.

With VRA, Fire and Rescue, Ambulance NSW, NSW Police Force, State Emergency Service, NSW Rural Fire Service and Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) coming together, Mr Charlton said it builds resilience and capability in the organisations.

"You want to make sure that the people that turn up to be able to get to help you in times of need are prepared and able to use their equipment effectively," he said.

"This activity is all about collaboration, team working, networking and cross pollination of skills because you never know where they're gonna turn up."

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Mr Charlton wanted to thank the ARTC and ARRO for their support throughout the day and for all of their hard work in making the day possible.

ARRO president and Fire and Rescue field operations deputy commissioner Jeremy Fewtrell was on hand on Sunday to help with the training of the "very realistic" scenarios.

"We had it look like what might happen in a rail crossing accident, which unfortunately, happens all too often," he said.

"We mixed up all the agency staff into different teams so they're working with people from other agencies, people from other parts of the state that they wouldn't have really seen otherwise."

The reason Mr Fewtrell decided to do that was because they all had a good set of base skills but the training program was to help them collaborate and cooperate with a different set of people.

"It's really impressive how well the mixed teams have worked together and they're bringing all their own respective experience and expertise and they've been able to blend that together really effectively."

The day was also about raising awareness around the safety of operating in rail incidents.

"These aren't every day type of incidents and it's a very particular set of extra challenges with train and rail incidents, it could be the nature of the cargo that makes it more complicated or where a car sits and whether it has gone under the train, the wheels of the train and if they have come off the tracks and there's now stability issues with derailment, there's a lot to learn," he said.

"We've had people here who are quite new to the rescue space and we've also got people who have been doing it for over 30 years, but everyone is learning something."

To make sure the simulation is accurate, the cars used were accurately ruined as though they had been in the exact accident they were portraying. The crews also used the same gear they would have out on the road for emergencies.

A mixture of live patients with simulated injuries as well as mannequins were also being used to help make the experience feel more realistic.

"Sometimes these incidents are going to happen out in very isolated, distinct locations, and you've got to just be able to use the gear that you've got on scene, you'd be waiting many, many hours for any extra stuff to come," he said.

"So to be able to give them the sort of exposure of how to maximise the use of all the gear that they would have on the scene to get the best outcome from that was really good."

As a not-for-profit organisation ARRO is focused on improving the quality of rescue operations, so anyone that's involved in a car crash or similar type of risky situation can get the best possible treatment they can as quickly as possible.

"We want to continue to improve the profession and this is a really important opportunity for us to be putting that into practice and sharing knowledge in a collaborative way," he said.

"It's been really good to have a lot of support from all the agencies providing their people and equipment.

"It's good reassurance to the community because we are out on the road everyday and we just need to keep improving and making sure we are all at the top of our game and working well together."