Department of Fire and Emergency Services announce four Mid West finalists for WAFES Awards announced Sep

Three Mid West volunteers and a rescue group are finalists at this year’s Western Australian Fire and Emergency Services awards, praising the efforts of those providing emergency services in their community. The annual awards acknowledge groups and individuals who have excelled in preparedness, community education and engagement. This year, 44 finalists across the State have been recognised for their efforts at major emergencies, including Marine Rescue Geraldton’s training officer Ian Astill and senior crew member Sebastian Rausch, who is as young as 18. Mr Astill is a finalist for the Marine Rescue Individual Achievement Award and has been instrumental in getting new members inducted and registered. Using his skills as a former Royal Australian Navy officer, Mr Astill has delivered training across the Mid West and other regions. Responding to search and rescue incidents as an active rescue skipper, Mr Astill was recently deployed to Coral Bay for 10 days as part of the total solar eclipse event in April. Mr Rausch is in the running to receive the Marine Rescue Youth Achievement Award after following in his father, Lee and older brother Tristian’s footsteps and becoming an emergency services volunteer. The 18-year-old has shown an insatiable appetite to learn everything there is to know about Marine Rescue, and has completed six DFES Marine Rescue training courses in five months, studying to become a fully-fledged crew member in near record time. Mr Rausch never fails to show up early on a Sunday to get to training and has taken every challenge in his stride, demonstrating a level of maturity and commitment far exceeding his age. Looking further out at the Mid West, Dongara-Denison Volunteer Fire and Rescue Service’s Paul Parker received the Volunteer Fire and Rescue Service Individual Achievement Award, while Marine Rescue Jurien Bay received the Marine Rescue Team Achievement Award Awards will be announced at the WAFES conference in September. Emergency Services Minister Stephen Dawson congratulated the finalists and thanked them for their continuous work and commitment to emergency services. “Year after year, an impressive force of volunteers and career personnel devote themselves tirelessly to protecting our state,” he said. “It is heartening to see nominations for the WAFES Awards increasing each year.” This year there were 140 nominations for award categories, rising 35 per cent compared with last year.