When Benalla SES member Graham Milner was taking a trip to Pea Soup Beach, Port Fairy, he was approached with an unusual request.
“(Me and) my wife were holidaying on the west coast of Victoria,” he said.
While in a car park, by the sea, they were approached by a couple looking for a ride into Port Fairy.
“They were a couple from Brighton in England,” Graham said.
“They were about to go for a swim, but had locked their keys in their hire car.”
Graham said that calls were made to Port Fairy police, the RACV and the car hire company, with no solution found.
“The hire company had said maybe a locksmith could come down from Warrnambool, but it would have been expensive,” he said.
So, Graham decided to give the controller from Port Fairy SES a call.
“She suggested that the local CFA had a car door opening kit,” he said.
“A phone call to its captain, Hugh Worrall, resulted in the CFA attending.
“They gave a demonstration of the unlocking device, and the car was opened in five minutes with no damage.”
Graham said it goes to show that it’s not what you know, but who you know, that’s important.