CFS delivers specialist training for SAAS Special Operations Team recruits

South Australia’s next generation of specialist paramedics has been put through their paces in a high-pressure training session led by the Country Fire Service (CFS), designed to simulate the extreme demands of real-world emergencies. 

The CFS Urban Team from Learning & Development, supported by 15 experienced volunteers, delivered a fast-paced, scenario-based program for the South Australian Ambulance Service (SAAS) Special Operations Team (SOT) recruits at the CFS State Training Centre.

The recruits had already faced a demanding day of physically and mentally challenging activities. After this, they arrived at the training facility where they camped outdoors overnight.

Throughout the night, recruits were woken several times to respond to simulated casualties and complete further tasks before returning to their camp. At 6:00 am, after running on minimal sleep, they began a one-hour physical training session and then came straight to us for their next challenge.

The training featured a rapid introduction to Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA), followed by a simulated multi-storey search and rescue. Recruits were required to navigate dark, smoke-filled environments to locate and extract a casualty played by a volunteer.

In the next scenario, recruits donned full gas-tight suits and entered a simulated hazardous materials incident, where they were tasked with locating, triaging, and reporting on multiple casualties under time pressure.

The session was one part of a demanding broader program for the SOT recruits, who had already completed land search, rescue from heights, and vertical angle rescue exercises. The CFS component focused on resilience, teamwork, and critical decision-making in stressful environments, with volunteers playing a key role in delivering and supporting the simulations.

CFS thanks all volunteers who contributed their time and expertise to make this exercise possible and acknowledges SAAS for its ongoing partnership. Collaborative training like this builds stronger relationships across emergency services and ensures we’re ready to respond together when it counts.