news, local-news, georgeina whelan, whelan, esa, canberra, canberra bushfires, orroral valley

In a week where the ACT has come under threat from the worst bushfires to hit the capital since 2003, for many Canberrans, she's been the calm and reassuring voice in the eye of the storm. But at the height of the bushfire crisis in the Orroral Valley on Saturday that was threatening homes in Tharwa and southern Tuggeranong, another emergency was playing out for ACT Emergency Services Agency commissioner Georgeina Whelan. Her son had to be rushed to hospital after experiencing a hypoxia seizure triggered by a heart condition, causing him to fall and receive a minor head injury. While Ms Whelan said she didn't speak much about her private life, she said her son was now safe back home and was recovering well. "Thank you [to the paramedics] for your support that allows me to keep doing what I do, knowing my family are in safe hands," she said. This is Ms Whelan's first fire season as ACT Emergency Services Agency commissioner. The season has been as unprecedented as it has been devastating. Throughout the bushfire crisis, she has been front and centre of the ACT's response, providing updates and information to the public over many long days and sleepless nights. "I'm a very relatable individual as a non-firefighter, as having not had a firefighting background, I'm hoping I'm relaying information in plain speak as I would want exchanged as a resident," Ms Whelan said. "I have the best team I can want or need behind me, and they're constantly stepping up and providing the technical information I need so I can assess and evaluate and make decisions I need to make." While the days have been long and challenging during the ongoing crisis, Ms Whelan said she was well supported in the new role. "People are helping to keep a really close eye on me to make sure I get enough rest and if I need to take time out for a coffee, I have mentors to support me," she said. "After 33 years in the military, I understand the importance of keeping myself where I need to be and up to date, and the work and rest cycle is as important for me as for the crews on the ground." Throughout this year's bushfire season, the new commissioner has been in constant contact with counterparts from other states and territories, including NSW Rural Fire Service commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons. "We're always on the phone and he's texting me and giving me advice," she said. "The senior commanders around the country, they look out for the new people." The Emergency Services Agency commissioner was appointed to the role in June 2019. After coming into the role after 33 years experience in the military and as chief of the ACT SES, Ms Whelan told The Canberra Times last June her first priority in the role was "preparing for the upcoming bushfire season". Ms Whelan enlisted in the army in 1985 after finishing school, telling the Department of Veterans' Affairs last year she joined as a way to escape the suburbs of western Sydney. "I was in Bankstown shopping centre one day when I saw the recruiting van and I walked in," she said. After serving in the Psychology Corps, Ms Whelan then joined the Australian Army Medical Corps, becoming an operations officer deployed to Papua New Guinea following a tsunami in 1998. MORE COVERAGE OF A.C.T. FIRES: Just seven years later, she was the commanding officer of a field hospital in Banda Aceh in Indonesia, dealing with the aftermath of the Boxing Day tsunami. Towards the end of her time with the defence force, Ms Whelan spent time as the chief of staff of the Australian Defence Force's headquarters. It was while she was on long service leave in the role that she saw an advertisement for the job to lead the ACT SES, a role she served in for almost two years, before becoming commissioner of the Emergency Services Agency. The bushfires burning in the Namadgi National Park are far from being extinguished and the commissioner said many long days and weeks were ahead to contain the blaze. One of the many things emboldening the emergency crews, Ms Whelan said, had been the support from the public. "To the community, you're great. We're feeling that support and it keeps us going and makes what we do very worthwhile," she said.

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