Friday 19 January 2007 - 12.00hrs
Specialist equipment capable of handling major emergencies will
be put to the test by Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) technicians
from AF&RS next week.
The USAR team will simulate a structural collapse incident at
two houses on Emerson Square in Horfield.
Scheduled for demolition later this year, the houses provide an
ideal environment for the USAR team to train in shoring up
buildings, cutting through concrete walls and using search
equipment.
Station Officer Mark Webb said: “This is the first opportunity we
have had to test the equipment in a realistic, but stable,
environment. Our main aim is to practise propping and shoring
walls, breaking and breaching, and locating and rescuing
casualties.”
Urban Search and Rescue forms part of the Government’s New
Dimension programme which provides the fire and rescue service with
the capability to respond to major emergencies involving chemical,
biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) events, search and
rescue, major flooding incidents and major transport incidents.
AF&RS has recently been granted planning permission to
extend its premises at Nailsea Fire Station. When building work is
completed on the station later this year, it will house the USAR
equipment as well as a high volume pump in addition to the existing
vehicles.
AF&RS has been given access to the houses on Emerson Square
by kind permission of Bristol City
Council.