The exercise, to be held on the gravel area between the Bridgetown Newsagency and Spencer Street, will be held from 10.30am on Saturday, October 4 and will be open for the public to view.

It will display one of the things emergency service personnel have to face on too many occasions – motor vehicle accidents.

The exercise was designed to give the general public an opportunity to see how the emergency services work in such situations.

Two vehicles will be involved in the exercise, and the ‘casualties’ will be actors from Bridgetown Theatre.

Senior constable Graham Chitty said nobody woke up in the morning and consciously thought ‘today I will have a heart attack or maybe a car accident, or how about lighting a fire that gets out of control.’

He said the day people need the services of one or all of these groups may be the day the emergency services fail to respond due to the lack of volunteers.

“The communities within our shire are in desperate need of new volunteers,” sen-const. Chitty said.

“Whether you choose to join the fire brigade, St John Ambulance or State Emergency Service, volunteers are trained in their respective roles and all necessary equipment and uniforms are supplied, and all we ask in return is your commitment to help our community, which is of course your community.

“Please don’t just say ‘I couldn’t do that’ or ‘I wouldn’t be able to fight fires’ or ‘I faint at the sight of blood’… everyone, without fail, has to be shown or taught almost everything in life to be able to do what they now take for granted and the emergency services are no different.

“Allow us the opportunity to talk to you and explain how we work and the training we can offer.”

People of all ages and all abilities are urgently needed for voluntary work in the local services.

“You don’t have to be young and dynamically fit to help,” sen-const. Chitty said.

“Older people and people with disabilities can be involved with preparation work, management, book keeping, radio and communications and many other jobs.”

St John Ambulance can be emailed at sjabridgetown@westnet.com.au or call Steve on 0418 938 800.

For the fire brigade call Shane on 0439 731 003 or James on 0417 179 276.

For the State Emergency Service call Barry on 9761 1638.