NSW SES Inverell Unit

16/10/2026

A bit of an electrical fire at the Inverell TAFE led to a 2 1/2 hr job tarping the solar panels ready for the sparky to what they need to do.

Make sure you have your panels inspected on a regular basis.

27/09/2026

Different teams same aim, supporting communities. 🥰

26/09/2026

We headed back out to the Inverell Mountain Bike Club today to help out with a problem tree which had torn up part of the track at the top of Roller-coaster. We brought some of our good toys and made short work of the job making the track safe again.

Dan and the team have a bit of finessing to do to stabalise the hill where the roots had been and compact the ground into a firm.track again. We discussed some options and are excited to see how the trail looks in a few weeks.

25/09/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1e5vfvH3uE/

17/09/2026

It's true...

I’D LOVE TO JOIN SES… BUT…
We hear it all the time.
🗣️ “I’m a parent.”
💼 “I work full-time.”
✈️ “I work away.”
🌙 “I work shifts.”
🌴 “I’m retired.”
😅 “Life is just really busy.”

And you know what?
So are our volunteers 🙋‍♀️🙋‍♂️

Our members have jobs, families, commitments, hobbies and busy lives outside of SES.

We don’t all have the same schedules.
We don’t all have the same availability.
And we definitely don’t all have endless free time.
That’s the point!

VOLUNTEERING DOESN’T HAVE TO MEAN PUTTING YOUR LIFE ON HOLD.
You give what you can. 🤲
You learn new skills. 🧠
You meet great people. 🤝
You become part of a team. 🧡

So if you’ve been thinking:
🤔 “I’D LOVE TO JOIN SES… BUT…”
Maybe your "BUT" isn’t a reason not to join.

🧡 THERE’S A PLACE FOR YOU AT THE YASS UNIT 🧡

10/08/2026

Saturday we had the pleasure of supporting mens mental health at the annual Inverell Speed Shear at the Royal hotel.

We thoroughly enjoyed meeting everyone and seeing so many orange trucker hats make their way into the crowd. Although we were primarily there to provide first aid, we luckily only had one incident to deal with after a minor fall.

The speed shear was started after a young man with a world of potential took his own life. Liam 's extended family spoke movingly about their memories of his life and also about the importance of looking out for each other and having those meaningful conversations.

Liam also had close connections to members of our unit, and as sad as it was to think about our loss, we look forward to supporting the event in coming years.

We would also like to share our condolances to all those who have shared similar loss in our community. Any life lost this way is a life lost too soon.

15/06/2026

This weekend saw an influx of SES volunteers and staff into Inverell for a two day leadership conference at the Inverell RSM Club. Attendees came from as far afield as Tenterfield, Boggabri, and the Liverpool Plains to represent their units and to discuss the future direction of the NW Zone through community connections and volunteer support and engagement.

Special guests included Acting Deputy Commissioner Nic Hogan and Acting Assistant Commissioner Brigid Rice, with an attendance vis Zoom of Commissioner Mike Wassing.

In addition to the various presentations and discussions that formed the formal events, a number of members were recognised with awards and achievements including a National Emergency Medal, and some long service milestones. Our own Riley Gruenfeld attended the conference dinner to receive his 10 Year Service citation and medal.

Many of the Commanders and Deputy Commanders took the opportunity to visit the Inverell Emergency Operations Centre on Sunday morning for a bbq breakfast, tour of the facilities, and a demonstration of one of the new drones the NSW SES is trialling. The large drone has been employed in damage assessment and land searches, and is also capable of performing line drops to assist in accessing people in flood rescues with less risk to volunteers. Additionally a small drone was also revealed which is due to be rolled out to all storm vehicles for damage assessment during callouts.

Many thanks go to the staff at NW Zone who traveled from Tamworth to make the weekend such a success, but also to all the other staff wo worked behind the scenes to enable the event to be held.

06/05/2026

In addition to our open day on Saturday morning, our members were joined by special guests and past members for a formal dinner at the Inverell Sporties.

During the dinner some of our special guests spoke about the achievements of the unit in its 50 year existence. A history made up of a combined mebership accounting for 1132 years worth of volunteering.

Two of the most meaningful speeches were given by guests who helped make up that contribution. David Jones, a founding member who is still an important member of the unit despite turning 80 recently, and Charlie Moir, former member, Local Commander, and president of the NSW SES Volunteer Association, spoke about their time in the unit and the personal as well as community benefits of volunteering.

A lovely meal was shared with a great atmosphere building connections and chatting with friends.

The night was only made possible through the generosity of the NSW SES VA, who provided the unit with a grant to be able to host the dinner.

A sincere thank you goes out to everyone who came and made the night such a success.

06/05/2026

Saturday was a big day for the team at Inverell Unit. Having reached our 50 year milestone in February we celebrated formally this weekend.

Our open day may not have drawn huge crowds but, those who came engaged thoroughly with what was on offer.

Councilor Kel Brown took the opportunity to get into a harness and get a bit of a sense of what it's like for our storm opperators to get on a roof with all of our safety systems.

Kids and adults alike took on the ropebag challenge. Rooebags are a first level rescue tool to get people to safety when they are caught in flood water. The challenge was an accuracy feat with two different size tyres to through the ropebag through and win a prize.

As we have seen before, a favourite for the kids was to explore the tunnels made up of various size concrete pipe. Some found it a challenge due to the confined feel but everyone came out with a big smile.

Congratulations to our colouring contest winners, who all went home with their own Paddy Platypus, the NSW SES mascot.

Thanks also go to the team from Bingara Unit for their display of hauling systems and vertical mobility.

We look forward to our next open day, where we will hopefully see an even bigger turn out.

02/05/2026

Come up and have a coffee or a snag, and a chat. The team have been busily setting up for the day.