Got what it takes for search and rescue?
Reporter Kirsty Lawrence sees if she’s got what it takes to be an emergency rescue volunteer.
I have experienced what lying in a collapsed building might feel like. If you are curious, it feels like you are trapped in a coffin.
This opportunity, if you can call it that, came when I was invited to one of the Palmerston North’s Rescue Emergency Support Team’s training nights to see what being a volunteer entailed.
The team is one of 18 nationally-accredited emergencyrescue units in New Zealand.
It is run by the Palmerston North City Council and made up entirely of volunteers, who give a lot of their time and energy to support emergency services in Manawatu and beyond.
They recently rescued a horse trapped in a river near Otaki.
The first thing on the cards when I arrived at the rubble pile – which was literally that, on a work site in Awapuni – was getting kitted out.
I was put into a signature red suit and hard hat and was given gloves and goggles.
The training simulated what searching for people in a collapsed building after an earthquake is like.
Once we were familiar with the terrain, we conducted a line search, which in all honesty showed how unglamorous the role could be.
You all line up in a row and advance two metres, then each take turns yelling into the rubble to ask if anyone can hear you.
This was then done a second time, but someone was sent to hide in the rubble to respond to our calls when they heard us.
The whole process started again and I was told if someone did call and you heard something, point your arm in the direction the noise came from.
However, you are not to look around to see if people have their hands in the air as it could make you hear fake noises, or not hear something else.
Halfway through the exercise I cheated and snuck a look. More than half the group had their hands pointing in one direction. What was I missing?
Then I heard the light tapping. Someone could hear us.
Team member Lana Sklenars said this was often the case and unless you knew what to listen for, it was easy to miss noises.
This shows how important it is to have teams and training like that in an emergency. I always thought in the face of danger, or a disaster, what to do would just come naturally. It doesn’t.
After finding the ‘‘victim’’, I
The training simulated what searching for people in a collapsed building after an earthquake is like.
had a turn hiding in the spot and, believe me, it was tight.
Even being trapped in rocks for a moment or two is enough to make you start to panic.
After finishing the rubble search it was my turn to be strapped into a stretcher and carried over the rubble.
In 2016, they attended 83 activities, donated more than 3800 hours of time to training and events and donated more than 200 hours to incident response.
An open night will be held on March 7, at the Palmerston North City Council building at 7pm, where people can meet the team.