In Wesel, the ISAR Germany team rehearsed an emergency: search and rescue after a simulated earthquake, first aid and coordination with the UN and authorities.Wesel, one weekend, one assumed earthquake: ISAR Germany's emergency services put their skills to the test under realistic conditions in the North Rhine-Westphalian town. Hosted by our co-operation partner House Apartment in Voerde, the team spent three intensive days practising together and preparing for the next real deployment.
The rescue dogs made the start. In a simulated rubble field, they systematically searched for trapped people, calmly, focussed and reliably. What seems almost self-evident from the outside is the result of months of joint training between dog and handler. The training in Wesel showed once again how valuable these teams are in the first phase of a rescue operation: Where technology reaches its limits, the nose works its way forward.
As soon as the dogs had made contact, the technical equipment moved in. Using a so-called Searchcam, a flexible search camera that can also be guided through narrow cavities, the emergency services investigated the exact location of the buried victims. Only when it is clear where a person is lying, how they are lying and what condition they are in can the rescue be safely planned. This step is often less spectacular than the actual rescue operation, but it is at least as crucial.
With this information, the rescue team got to work. Step by step, the trapped people were freed from their position, a technically demanding and physically challenging task, always with the safety of everyone involved in mind. Immediately after the rescue, members of the medical team took over first aid. In an emergency, every minute counts, and that also needs to be practised.
Parallel to the events at the deployment site, the Field Office trained a skill that is often underestimated in international disaster management: communication with UN structures and local authorities on the ground.
