It was another weekend of multi-agency rescues across the state, as CFA crews teamed up with SES, FRV, Victoria Police and Ambulance Victoria to save a cow, rescue a bush walker and bring two missing people back home to shore.
Cow wanders to creek
On Sunday afternoon, 16 April around 2:48pm, Kalkallo Fire Brigade was paged to assist the Craigieburn SES crew who were already on scene with a community service animal rescue, as a cow had become stuck in Kalkallo Creek.
Arthurs Creek & Strathewen Fire Brigade was called in to lend a hand, and Captain Warren Rees responded with the large animal rescue equipment and trailer to assist.
Crews were quick to work together to gain control of the scene at 3:03pm but worked for almost another two hours to safely release the cow back to the paddock by 4:42pm.
Cape Otway walker winched
On Saturday morning, 15 April around 11:04am, Apollo Bay Fire Brigade responded to a high angle rescue along the Great Ocean Road Walking Trail. Four CFA units joined SES and FRV to discover a 75-year-old walker who had fallen and suffered a broken wrist along the track.
Victoria Police, Ambulance Victoria and HEMS paramedics were called to the scene.
Agencies decided it would be too challenging to use a mule wheel to retrieve the patient, and instead opted to use the winch from the helicopter as the safest and most effective approach.
The walker was safely winched from the trail by 1:03pm and transported to hospital by air ambulance.
Eildon fire boat to the rescue
At 8:03pm on Saturday night, April 15, Victoria Police and SES enlisted the help of the Eildon CFA fire boat to assist in the search for missing persons.
The Eildon fire boat was dispatched around Bolte Bay, Lake Eildon and by 9:09pm, crews on the boat had located two missing persons and were on their way back to camp. Given they were in good health, Ambulance Victoria wasn’t required on scene.
By 9:27pm the fire boat crew had safely retrieved them to a safe land location on shore.