- Wear Orange Wednesday a national day to thank the State Emergency Service
- Buildings and heritage sites across WA will light up in orange
- Community encouraged to don orange to show their appreciation
Buildings across Western Australia will be lit up in a familiar colour tomorrow night to celebrate Wear Orange Wednesday, better known as 'WOW Day'.
WOW Day is an annual day of recognition for the State Emergency Service (SES) and all Western Australians are encouraged to include a dash of orange in their outfit in a nod to the volunteers' iconic uniforms.
Parliament House, Perth Concert Hall and Fremantle Prison are just some of the buildings in the metropolitan area that will glow orange in a tribute to the SES.
Several regional local governments have also committed to showing their gratitude by lighting up council buildings and other landmarks.
SES personnel are among the nation's first responders to storms, floods and cyclones, turning out at all hours to help those in distress.
They also play a vital supporting role at other incidents including searches for missing persons, vertical rescues and even bushfires.
In the past year SES volunteers have dedicated more than 18,000 hours responding to nearly 2,000 incidents.
They included the devastating floods across the Kimberley in January, while more than 120 volunteers from WA were deployed to the east coast to support flood-affected areas last year.
Comments attributed to Emergency Services Minister Stephen Dawson:
"More than 2,000 people volunteer for the SES across Western Australia and contribute to such a wide range of incidents - our State couldn't function without them.
"These volunteers make themselves available 24 hours a day, seven days a week and are always ready to answer the call for help. Wearing orange tomorrow is a fantastic way to show appreciation for our SES volunteers - it is a small gesture that holds a lot of meaning.
"I encourage everyone to wear something orange to demonstrate their appreciation for the valued and essential service the SES provides to the local WA community."
Minister's office - 6552 5800
