The Rescue dog squadron from I.S.A.R. Germany has Tritol plant with Vienna organised the annual locating week. For one week, the Dog handlers and Dog handler with their dogs in realistic rubble areas to perfect the search for people under operational conditions. This year, teams from @fire and the National 119 Rescue Division from South Korea took part.
The training included practical search exercises in small groups, in which the scenarios were made more challenging from round to round. Increasingly complex hiding places, different structures and realistic operating conditions challenged humans and dogs alike. Colleagues from South Korea also took over the management of the exercise at times, so that everyone involved was able to benefit from international experience.
In addition to the practical sessions, there were evening theory sessions and joint video analyses of the exercises. Specialist topics such as heat management in dogs rounded off the programme. High-ranking guests such as Benjamin Manahl, Federal Head of Operations and Team Leader of the SA-RRT at ASB Austria, and Alois Balog, President of the International Rescue Dog Organisation (IRO), accompanied the tracking week.
The professional exchange with the international partners was very successful. A continuation is already planned. In September, a delegation from I.S.A.R. Germany will be travelling to Taiwan to meet two of their South Korean colleagues again.