First Aid emergency response training for landholders well attended
Exmoor Station, near Collinsville, took on an unexpected role recently, transforming its homestead lawns into a hands-on emergency response training ground for local landholders.
The full-day rural first aid course, sponsored by NQ Dry Tropics through its Burdekin Landscape Repair program, was led by Vicki Revett from Impulse Training. It was driven by Exmoor grazier Nat Comerford, who attended a similar course in Charters Towers a few years earlier and was determined to bring that same life-saving knowledge closer to home.
Her initiative struck a chord, with 25 participants from surrounding properties making the effort to attend, some travelling long distances in the pre-dawn dark to be there.
Designed specifically for remote and station environments, the training focused on emergencies where help can be hours away and conditions are rarely ideal. The day began with the essentials, Danger, Response, Send for help, Airway, Breathing, CPR and Defibrillation, framed through scenarios that felt all too familiar, from mustering accidents to machinery incidents and heat-related collapses.
Snake bite response quickly became a focal point, with participants sharing their own close calls before practising pressure immobilisation techniques until they became second nature. The message was clear: in the bush, decisive action matters.
The intensity lifted further as realistic trauma simulations unfolded, including a bike accident and a crush injury scenario in the yards. Teams worked through the chaos, assessing scenes, managing airways, controlling bleeding, and making critical decisions under pressure.
By the end of the day, the conversation had shifted from theory to practical change. Participants discussed how they would update first aid kits, improve emergency communication plans, and clarify roles within their teams if the unexpected occurred.
What started as a training session became something more — a shared commitment to being better prepared, more confident, and more capable when it matters most.
This event was delivered by The Burdekin Landscape Repair project, funded through the Australian Government’s Reef Trust program.
Participants worked through a range of scenarios covering airway management, breathing assessment, CPR, and defibrillation.
