Unit controller Marty Reither said a current lack of volunteers meant neighbouring units were relied upon to respond to calls in their area. 

“It is critical that we have enough members to respond to incidents, otherwise we put the casualty at risk when neighbouring units are required to respond,” Mr Reither said. 

“Whether it be road crashes, floods, or trees falling down, the SES is an important rescue service to the area because we are isolated.”

The unit responds to incidents from Marnoo to Minyip and Murtoa to Donald. 

It currently has five active members. 

Mr Reither said the unit wanted to increase those numbers to 10 volunteers who would ideally live in the Murtoa, Minyip, Rupanyup or Marnoo districts.

He said the unit had several goals in place to improve its service to the community. 

“We are about to receive a new four-wheel drive rescue truck that will be fully equipped with the necessary resources required to attend to incidents,” he said. 

“There are also plans to improve the existing infrastructure at the Dunmunkle SES building to make it more usable.” 

The unit is due to receive a road crash accreditation, which allows members to attend to road crashes in the area. 

Mr Reither said there was a small window of opportunity when responding to highway crashes.

“Ideally, you want people out of the vehicle and into the paramedics’ hands within an hour,” he said. 

“If you start calling neighbouring units it is very difficult for that to be achieved.” 

Mr Reither said the unit trained every second Wednesday night at Rupanyup. 

He said people wanting more information, or wanting to register their interest, could phone 0427 590 215 or the Grampians regional office’s volunteer support officer Lauren Hawkins on 0448 288 225.