Archive for the ‘Decoder Staff’ Category

As we all know, it’s been a rocky start to the year for Queenslanders.  First came the destructive January floods, and then in February, north Queensland faced the wrath of Cyclone Yasi. Decoder’s Production Assistant and SES Superstar, Tom, has had his work cut out for him…

During the Brisbane floods, Tom spent five days with the SES providing flood assistance in the suburb of Bellbowrie. With 105 hours of hard work, Tom helped to set up an evacuation centre, assisted with the helicopter evacuation of a 94 year old man with a broken hip, evacuated residents from their homes, and performed flood boat rescues.  With the immediate danger past, Tom stayed to coordinate civilian cleanup volunteers, clean debris from access roads and carry out welfare checks on residents.

This was a great effort, but Tom’s contribution wasn’t over yet.  With the advent of Cyclone Yasi, Tom answered the call to head north to help with the fallout. Based in Cairns, his team of 40 chainsaw and height safety specialists carried out vital tasks across Innisfail, Tully, Mission Beach and Cardwell.

In the cyclone zone, Tom and his team worked to clear trees and debris from roads, driveways and buildings; installed tarpaulins over homes with roofs that were damaged or completely destroyed; and conducted welfare checks on residents. During his five day deployment, Tom saw trees and power poles that had been snapped in two, houses ripped from their foundations or demolished by fallen trees, roofs littering the streets, forests stripped and trucks overturned.

Tom returned to Brisbane on Tuesday, safe and sound. We couldn’t be prouder of him here at decoder, and we’d like to convey our sincere thanks to him and the Queensland State Emergency Service for their tireless hard work during the devastating events of the past few weeks.

To make a donation to the QLD Premier’s Disaster Relief Appeal visit:   http://www.qld.gov.au/floods/donate.html 

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