Griffith firefighter Anthony Hatch has been awarded the NSW State Emergency Services (SES) Commissioner’s Commendation for his tireless work to improve large animal rescue in the state.
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Hatchy, as he’s commonly known, has been instrumental in making large animal rescue safe; after years in which it was done in a haphazard and dangerous way.
“When I was a firefighter in Sydney, and say a horse needed rescuing, they’d turn to me say ‘you’re the country boy, show us how it’s done’,” Hatchy said.
His fellow firefighters were not formally trained in such ventures, so often the animal or rescuers would often get injured.
“They were well-meaning people doing the best they could with little training or resources," Hatchy said.
Hatchy thought if he was the one expected to lead in this area, he better figure out how to do it properly.
After doing his own research, he was awarded a Winston Churchill Fellowship for Animal Emergency Services in 2009. The fellowship enabled his to travel across the US and Europe to learn how other countries were conducting animal rescues.
“Usually the people who get Churchill Fellowships have more letters after their names than I have in mine,” he said.
“It was my first ever overseas trip, and I was 40. It was a real life changing experience.”
Based on what he learned, Hatchy developed special training packages that would be used by four agencies – The SES, NSW Fire Brigade, NSW Rural Fire Service and Volunteer Rescue Association.
He lobbied to secure funding for proper training resources – horse mannequins, horse floats and rescue gliders (stretchers for animals).
Thanks to Hatchy, the above four agencies now have policies and procedures for rescuing animals – which include a requirement to bring a qualified veterinarian on a rescue mission.
“Before they’d being along a vet if they happened to be available, but it’s really something that should happen all the time”.
The Australian Veterinarian Association has now made Hatchy a qualified vet.
Hatchy’s training packages are the largest and most comprehensive of their type in the world.
He is now helping South Australia and Western Australia develop similar packages, and other countries are keen to learn from him too.
All this from a boy who grew up on a sheep station near Griffith.
“I learned many of my skills as a boy scout – how to read maps, First Aid… I think any kid who wants a career in firefighting or the SES should join the scouts.”