Emergency response
It is a requirement that all 129 surf clubs in NSW have an Emergency Callout Team. Their purpose is to respond to incidents at their beach and surrounding areas outside of patrol hours and/or in support of an on-duty patrol. The Emergency Callout Team at Bulli consists of almost 20 qualified and experienced members. Most of our callouts have been in relation to searching for members of the public on land, in/on the water or a combination of both.
The largest search operation the Illawarra had seen in a very long time occurred around Bulli on Saturday, 6 and Sunday, 7 June 2020. At about 6:20pm on Saturday, 6 June there were reports of people calling for help from the water and Bulli’s Emergency Callout Team was activated at about 6:35pm. During the search it was alleged that a boat had capsized near Bulli Point (Peggy's Reef). Officers from Wollongong Police District – with assistance from Marine Area Command, Pol Air helicopter, Toll Ambulance helicopter, Marine Rescue, Surf Life Saving Illawarra Duty Officer and Bulli SLSC members – commenced a search. At about 8pm two men were rescued by the Toll Ambulance Helicopter and taken to Wollongong Hospital for treatment. It became clear at that point that there were a total of four persons on board, including a five-year-old boy. Due to weather and surf conditions, the search was suspended at midnight for the two people still missing. The capsized boat was towed into Port Kembla Harbour early Sunday morning where Police divers located the body of the boy.
Sunday morning members of Bulli SLSC as well as from 10 other Illawarra Surf Life Saving Clubs, SLSI Support Operations Team, SLSNSW Duty Officer, WCC Lifeguards, along with emergency service personnel from NSW Police & NSW Ambulance commenced a search from 6am of the immediate area (north & south, water & land) for the remaining missing person. Unfortunately the body of a man was recovered from the water near Corrimal about 1:10pm.
In addition to the big search effort Bulli’s club house was turned into the Command Post, from which the whole operation was lead and coordinated.
Members of the Emergency Callout Team can access reference material and emergency callout procedures in the SLS Members Area.
