SAVEM in 2022

South Australian Veterinary Emergency Management (SAVEM) Inc began 2022 with a one-week deployment to the pine/eucalypt plantation Coles fire in the South-East, near Lucindale. Initially there seemed to be few animal casualties, but as usual with wildlife, animals began to emerge days and weeks after the fire front had passed. Local wildlife carers became overwhelmed, and SAVEM was deployed to support them, the plantation owners and the Department of Environment and Water rangers.

Tragically, a firefighter life was lost at the Coles fire, which heightened everyone’s awareness of the danger of falling trees on a fireground – one of the reasons SAVEM insists all volunteers undergo our mandatory training program.

The arrival of winter brings a welcome end to bushfire season. SAVEM training resumed in April, after the Coles fire response and debrief. Level 1 training was held in early April, and Exercise InTent in May. SAVEM vets and nurses attended Wildlife Emergency Response Skills training, with Dr Ian Hough in March and June. Vehicle Orientation followed in July, with Radio Communications in August. In September, SAVEM took part in the Hills Small Acreage Field Day at Echunga in the Adelaide Hills, and as Winter persisted into Spring, Exercise Respond 2022 took place on the only sunny weekend in October. Our Operational Update 2022/23 has been postponed due to the storms that hit Adelaide on 12th November, and the SAVEM Riverland floods deployment.

SAVEM is an all species, all hazards response and recovery organisation, though bushfire is the most common emergency event requiring a SAVEM activation, and a large part of our work involves wildlife. Currently SAVEM is Activated to assist DEW at the River Murray flood response. This is a major flood event and will be a learning experience for SAVEM teams. We are looking forward to building as strong a relationship with the SES as we have with the CFS. This response is likely to continue until February 2023, so please watch the SAVEM News page for updates.

New volunteer vets and nurses are welcome to register for training in 2023. You’ll find Training Requirements under the Volunteers tab on the website. Online training modules and SAVEM Level 1 must be completed before being eligible for other training. The 2023 Training Calendar will be uploaded early in the new year so remember to check for dates and eligibility criteria.
Wishing you a safe and happy remainder of the year. The SAVEM Training Team hopes to see you in 2023 - visit savem.org.au.

Dr Rachel Westcott, SAVEM Coordinator