QFES and Orange Sky cleaning up after Debbie

Queensland Fire and Emergency Services (QFES) is teaming up with Orange Sky, the world’s first free laundry service for the homeless, to celebrate what makes volunteering great during National Volunteer Week.

In the wake of Tropical Cyclone Debbie, QFES volunteers were deployed to communities hit hardest.

With limited resources available in affected areas, Orange Sky also packed up and headed north, giving residents and volunteers on the ground a friendly refuge to take a load off.

Minister for Fire and Emergency Services Mark Ryan said the commitment of QFES and Orange Sky volunteers was something to be extremely proud of and National Volunteer Week was the perfect time to celebrate.

“Volunteers from the SES and Rural Fire Service (RFS) were deployed to some of the hardest hit areas of Queensland and responded to thousands of calls for assistance,” Mr Ryan said.

“Communities were left without basic amenities so the Orange Sky laundry was set up to help those affected, giving people somewhere to wash clothes and clean up.

“The service was also offered to other volunteers, many who had been working all day, and provided a place to have a chat, enjoy some rest and boost morale.”

QFES Commissioner Katarina Carroll said there were more than 42,000 SES and RFS volunteers spread throughout Queensland who responded to all types of emergencies when called upon but, every now and then, it was nice to receive a helping hand in turn.

“We have an amazing volunteer workforce across all services and more than 2,700 volunteers were deployed throughout the TC Debbie response and recovery,” Ms Carroll said.

“There was no shortage of work with QFES volunteers responding to more than 6,000 calls for assistance, from sandbagging to flood rescues, it was a busy time for all involved.

“Recovery efforts can be long, tiring and are never conducted under the best of circumstances, so to have the local community and our own QFES workforce supported by Orange Sky volunteers was wonderful.”

Orange Sky founder Lucas Patchett said working in the areas affected by Tropical Cyclone Debbie was an eye-opening experience for many volunteers who saw communities left with nothing.

“The devastation caused was unbelievable and we were just happy we could get into those areas affected and help out,” Mr Patchett said.

“For residents in these communities who were doing it tough, clean clothes and towels brought some normality back to their lives.

“From families who lost everything to SES personnel who were working day and night, we were lucky enough to do more than eight tonne of laundry in North Queensland.”

ENDS

Media contacts: Minister’s office             07 3035 8300