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| Development of Urban Search and Rescue Capacity in Pakistan | |||
| This project capitalised on the results from the INSARAG fact-finding mission sent to Pakistan in January 2006 upon a request from the Government of Pakistan following the earthquake in October 2005, which highlighted the risk exposure and vulnerability of the country. The project aimed to assist the Government of Pakistan in improving the national emergency response capacity. | |||
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There are a number of international partners within the project, including DFID, SRSA, SDC & UNDP, in addition to the national stakeholders within Pakistan - the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), the City Governments of Islamabad, Karachi and Lahore as well as the Pakistan Army. The project has a timescale of three years; from June 2007 until June 2010. The development goal of the project is to save more lives in disasters involving collapsed buildings in Pakistan and in the wider region. The project aims to do this by establishing a national USAR system by 2010 and institutionalising the system as part the overall preparedness and response system within Pakistan. | ||
| The project aims to create three USAR teams in line with INSARAG standards; two heavy teams in Islamabad and Karachi respectively and one medium team in Lahore. While the respective City Governments will provide capable human resources and training facilities; the international partners, SDC, SRSA, DFID and UNDP, will deliver: |  |
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USAR equipment | ||
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Assistance and advice in the establishment of appropriate Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) | ||
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Training of the USAR team in essential skills | ||
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Assistance in the development of manuals and other essential material into Urdu | ||
| An important objective of the project is to ensure that the capability being delivered will become part of the national response of the Pakistani state. In order to acheive this, the project aims to develop on-going maintenance and repair facilities for equipment, continued training and development for those participating and an administrative structure within which the USAR capability can grow and prosper. | |||
| The Role of UKFSSART | |||
| The UK was approached through Dave Dickson, the UKFSSART Coordinator, who was asked if instructors skilled in search and rescue techniques could be supplied to the project. Specific requirements included: | |||
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Procurement and advice on equipment selection for rope rescue |  |
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Development of a training programme for rope rescue, sufficient to meet the INSARAG requirements | ||
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Advice concerning equipment required for timber shoring operations | ||
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Development of a training programme for shoring operations, sufficient to meet the INSARAG requirements | ||
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Training and instruction in Pakistan | ||
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A process of identifying equipment suitable for the operational environment in Pakistan and selecting suitable personnel as instuctors was started, managed by Ken Marshall and Alan Pellowe. This initially resulted in Jim McParland from the West Midlands FRS being chosed as the lead instructor. The other instructors selected were:
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Training in Pakistan..... |
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