Carting sandbags in the midst of a natural disaster probably isn't the most romantic scenario, but it didn't stop SES volunteers Nicole Thomas and Shane Townsend falling in love.
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The Canberra couple met through the State Emergency Service when they were deployed to Hay in New South Wales in early 2012 to assist the community with flood relief.
Having entered the SES six months apart, the two just missed training together.
Nicole went on to volunteer for the Belconnen unit, and Shane for Tuggeranong.
"I had just moved up from Victoria and I was looking for a way to meet people," Nicole said.
"It was also a way to do something more physical, because I was in an office job, and a way to give back to the community. The SES is a lovely combination of all those things," Nicole said.
Shane said he joined up initially to "cut trees out of houses", but his role has grown considerably from that.
Nicole is now the deputy commander for Belconnen SES, and Shane is the commander for Tuggeranong.
Their relationship blossomed but despite moving in together in Canberra's south, Nicole and Shane kept volunteering at their respective units.
The couple has since had a son, 18-month-old Liam, known as the SES baby.
Shane's daughter Tegan, 19, is often called on to babysit to allow Shane and Nicole to attend SES operations.
The couple will each be awarded a medal to thank them for five years' service to the Canberra community on Tuesday.
"The general public know very little about what we do. When you mention the SES, they instantly think we fight fires, but that's not really our role," Shane said.
Quite often, Nicole said, residents they help out during a storm or flood will comment how much they must be getting paid for working overtime.
"And we go, yep, double of nothing!"
To raise awareness of the work the SES do in the Canberra community, the ACT SES will hold a vehicle convoy around Canberra on Sunday to demonstrate the range of vehicles, followed by a brunch at Nara Park at about 10.30am. The convoy will depart Gungahlin Marketplace and Liardet Street in Weston Creek at 9am and meet at Parkes Place to finish the convoy around the Canberra city loop. Wear Orange Wednesday on November 12 is another way to show support.