At the beginning of the week, the two German aid organisations I.S.A.R. Germany and the Federal Association of Rescue Dogs (BRH) opened their first joint foreign office. The office, which houses important management equipment for I.S.A.R. Germany among other things, is part of the premises of the professional fire brigade in the Taiwanese metropolis of Taichung.
For I.S.A.R. Managing Director Michael Lesmeister, this is a stroke of luck: „With the opening of our office in Taiwan, we have a contact point directly in earthquake-stricken Asia from which we can coordinate our aid quickly and unbureaucratically.“
Lesmeister signed the cooperation agreement together with Taiwan's Vice President Chen Chien-jen and a representative of the city of Taichung, which also provides for the permanent integration of ten Taiwanese firefighters into the I.S.A.R. Germany team. The Federal Association of Rescue Dogs also supports the project. It has been helping to train Taiwanese rescue dogs and their handlers for some time now and is also providing the financial resources for the operation of the office in the city on the South China Sea.
