The jumping castle tragedy that left six young Tasmanian children dead has left an horrific mark on the first responders that rushed to the scene with at least 12 of the workers still on mental health leave a year on.
Six children from Hillcrest Primary School, in the north Tasmanian city of Devonport, were on a jumping castle, set up for their final day of school on December 16, when a freak gust of wind swept it and the kids 10metres into the air.
Almost 200 first responders rushed to the scene with 12 still off work and around another 150 receiving ongoing support for the trauma they experienced that day.
Director of wellbeing support for Ambulance Tasmania and the Department of Police, Fire and Emergency Management Matthew Richman confirmed the tragedy was still being felt by many first responders.
‘When Hillcrest occurred we activated our critical incident stress management team and also our broader wellbeing support team and we had people on the ground very quickly to provide support on scene,’ Mr Richman told The Mercury.
Twelve first responders of the Hillcrest Public School tragedy are still on mental health leave one year after the deadly incident (pictured, two of the many heartbroken first responders at the scene)
‘That support really increased over the first couple of weeks and we are extending that support out for a two-year period.’
Mr Richman said the two years of wellbeing support was ‘not something we’ve done before’.
Five children, Peter Dodt, Jalailah Jayne-Marie Jones, Addison Stewart, Jye Sheehan, and Zane Mellor, died at the scene.
Chace Harrison died three days later after suffering critical injuries in the fall.
All were aged 11 or 12-years-old.
Three more children were seriously injured.
An investigation into the tragedy is ongoing, with speculation criminal charges could result. A public inquest is also planned.
The incident occurred during festivities on the last day of the school year with the students celebrating the upcoming summer holidays.
From left: Zane Mellor, Peter Dodt, Addison Stewart, Jye Sheehan and Jalailah Jayne-Marie Jones died on December 16, 2021. Three days later Chace Harrison (right) succumbed to his injuries
A photo of two police officers consoling each other on the lawns of Hillcrest Primary School gained national attention, with Mr Richman taking to LinkedIn to say it was ‘an incredibly powerful demonstration of the reality of policing’.
‘All emergency service responders who dealt with this incident have forever earned our respect and gratitude,’ Mr Richman wrote.
‘It is our turn now to support them – as a community.’
More than 150 other emergency services responders are still receiving mental health support for trauma they experienced from the incident (pictured, paramedics at Hillcrest Primary School
Hillcrest Primary School will hold a private ceremony on Friday morning to commemorate the anniversary of the incident, urging the public not to place tributes on school grounds but instead at a statue the city of Devonport will unveil Thursday
Hillcrest Primary has elected to hold a private ceremony on Friday to commemorate the anniversary of the tragedy, asking members of the public not to place flowers or other tributes near the school as the community is still deeply mourning.
Instead, it encouraged tributes be brought to the unveiling of a heart-shaped sculpture at 5:30pm on Thursday night in Devonport’s Market Square.
The Hillcrest Affected Recovery Committee said in a statement that the design of the sculpture was chosen as a ‘reflection of the image of Tasmania’s broken heart’.
It is believed this sculpture is only temporary, with a permanent memorial to be erected sometime in 2023.
Members of the public are invited to bring a flower or message of support to place in the heart as part of the commemoration ceremony.
No images of the sculpture are available as it is still under construction, but it is understood to be temporary.
A permanent memorial will be built in 2023.
Australians raised $1.4 million for the families of the victims, although it wasn’t released to families until March, 2022.
As a result of the tragedy several organisations banned the use of all inflatables on their properties, including the Tasmanian Department of Education.
