Volunteer profile – Dani Burgess

How long have you been in the team?

I have been a member of NEWSAR for 9 years, joining in 2012.

What you do outside NEWSAR (work and other hobbies)?

Anything outdoors, mainly horses and sailing. I also enjoy paddle boarding, cycling and long walks with my dogs. I love to travel and explore new places. I work as a Sports Therapist

Has this been transferred into NEWSAR?

My work as a Sports Therapist makes me a very empathetic person which I think transfers well into the team when dealing with casualties. I also love being part of a team and I’m very sociable. I enjoy being part of the Swift and Floodwater Rescue team and also the Casualty Care group.

What have you learned while being a member?

I’ve learnt a lot about all aspects of being a team member. Areas like navigation, missing person search, radio communications, casualty care, technical rope rescue, water rescue and working with helicopters. I love being part of a big family and supporting each other is fantastic.

Worst and best aspects of being in the team.

Worst part of the team is getting a call out in the middle of the night when it’s raining and blowing a gale, then having to get out of a warm bed! The best part is the feeling you get after you have helped someone, knowing that you’ve made a difference in someone’s life. Hardest part is the suicides and body recoveries or when you just never find that missing person and they are still out there somewhere because you feel for their families.

What is your most memorable event during your time with the team?

Searching on Christmas Eve night and through to Christmas Day alongside Boris the trailing search dog and Steve his handler. Luckily the missing person was found alive and it all ended well. I had Christmas lunch and spent the rest of the day asleep in front of the fire. Another memorable event for me was getting a ride in an RAF Sea king around Trearddur Bay on my own whilst the rest of the team was waiting to be winched as part of their training!