General News
24 May, 2026
Three decades of service
Horsham volunteer Kieran Loughran says volunteering has kept his retirement busy, meaningful and connected to the wider community after more than three decades of service.
Mr Loughran first became involved in emergency service volunteering in 1992, when he joined the newly established Arapiles Rescue Group within the Horsham SES Unit.
“I initially volunteered to help with rock-climbing rescue in my local community back in 1992,” he said.
“This was when the Arapiles Rescue Group was set up within the Horsham SES Unit.”
Since then, Mr Loughran has contributed to a wide range of volunteer organisations, including the State Emergency Service, a community centre committee and the Gariwerd Wimmera Reconciliation Network.
He has played a key role in the development of rock climbing rescue at Dyurrite/Mt Arapiles and Gariwerd, while also working with Traditional Owner land councils on the intersection between climbing activity and cultural heritage.
“I’ve been involved in the setup and evolution of rock climbing rescue at Dyurrite/Mt Arapiles and Gariwerd,” he said.
“I’ve worked with the various Traditional Owner Land Councils responsible for Dyurrite and Gariwerd on the intersection of rock-climbing activity with Cultural Heritage.”
Mr Loughran said volunteering had brought him into contact with a wide range of people, including fellow volunteers and emergency service professionals.
“It has meant that my retirement is very busy,” he said.
“It brings me into contact with a wide range of people, other volunteers and emergency service professionals.”
One of the defining moments of his volunteering career came during a major rope rescue at Dyurrite/Mt Arapiles in 2021, when a severely injured climber became stranded halfway up a 100-metre cliff with two other climbers.
“There was a major rope rescue at Dyurrite/Mt Arapiles in 2021 where a severely injured climber was halfway up a 100m cliff with two other unhurt but stranded climbers,” he said.
“I arrived at the top of the rescue site to find our combined SES and CFA crew rigged up, ready to send the first rescuer over the complex cliff-top.
“We successfully rescued the injured climber, evacuated the other two and got everyone down before dark.”
Mr Loughran said some call-outs had stayed with him long after the event, including the morning the 2020 tornado struck Horsham.
“One was walking into the Horsham Unit in the early hours of the morning when the 2020 tornado hit Horsham and realised the scale of what we were facing,” he said.
He said challenging jobs could take an emotional toll, but team debriefs, peer support, and support from loved ones helped volunteers process difficult incidents.
“Apart from support from my partner and friends, we debrief as a team, which may also involve SES Peer support,” he said.
“I have also used other SES support services for a particularly intense incident.”
Mr Loughran said helping people he knew during emergencies had sharpened his focus rather than distracted him.
“I’ve been OK with this on the few times it has happened,” he said.
“I think the situation sharpened my focus.”
Reflecting on volunteering today, Mr Loughran said it had become more difficult to attract people, particularly for routine roles such as management committees.
“It’s probably becoming harder to get people involved, particularly for more routine things such as management committees,” he said.
