MISSION TO DISASTER ZONE
Scots caught up in aftermath on Mount Everest
a huge clock tower at the hospital that was threatening to collapse on to the operating theatres. No one could be helped or fixed up until that was sorted.
“We used large cargo nets and strops to hold it in place and had the medical centre back up and running within two days.
“Our job is all about thinking out of the box to find solutions – as long as it’s safe and it works, then it’s good.”
Danny was also flown to a remote village along with a paramedic to help a five-year-old girl with a serious leg injury.
He recalled: “We managed to arrange a helicopter to get to her and bring her back safely.
“The roads were non-existent, so flying was the only way to access many of these places.
“She was very badly hurt but luckily made a pretty good recovery.”
Providing hands-on support in developing countries is only one way in which Scottish Fire and Rescue Service officers help people abroad.
They also play a key part in Operation Florian – started by British firefighters in 1995 in response to the war in the Balkans.
The charity aim to save lives around the world by providing vehicles, technical equipment such as breathing apparatus, clothing and training to improve other nations’ rescue capabilities.
And the experience Danny has gained working abroad with different rescue teams has been put to good use in Scotland.
As well as teaching many of the 8000 fire officers serving in Scotland, he is usually the lead officer in urban rescues here.
Just last month he ensured a 25-year-old woman trapped in a collapsed basement in Perth was quickly rescued.
He led the team who shored up the building and made sure that his fellow officers and other emergency services could work safely.
The techniques used had been tried and tested after the Clutha helicopter disaster in 2013 and the Stockline gas blast in 2004.
Danny said: “Urban search and rescue involves constant learning and evolving.
“If we can go through our careers saving just one life, whether that’s here or abroad, then we’ve done our job.” AMAZING tales of survival emerged from Nepal in the days after the quake, which was the deadliest in the country for more than 80 years.
Scots climber James Grieve was trapped 19,500ft up Mount Everest after he was caught in an avalanche triggered by the tremor.
The 52-year-old from Kinross cheated death by clinging to the mountain face with an ice axe when a wall of snow swept down the world’s tallest peak.
The engineer, who was scaling the mountain for charity, was with four UK partners when the avalanche hit. They survived a treacherous descent and were evacuated by helicopter.
While they were awaiting rescue, James said: “Snow and ice was coming down as the glacier shook. We were lucky to survive. We all ran out of our tents. There’s around 12 people dead and 50 injured.”
Matt Thorne, from Stirling, was at Everest base camp when disaster struck.
The 36-year-old property consultant managed to get a message to his frantic family as the death toll rose and they feared the worst.
At the time, his mum Marcelline told the Record of their relief after they received the text message from one of her son’s mountain guides to let them know he was alive.
She said: “I am overwhelmed and overjoyed. It’s a big relief.
“It will take more than an earthquake to stop my boy.”
In the days following the disaster, Scots at home did what they could to support the Nepalese people.
Cheesemaker Chris Reade, from Mull, travelled to the country to help a yak farmer who lost nearly everything in the earthquake. The 75-year-old taught the man’s family how
to make cheese with milk from their last few remaining yaks.
Chris and her family manage Sgriob-ruadh, the only dairy farm on Mull, where they have been making award-winning cheese for 30 years.
She felt a strong connection with farmer Dhindu and his wife Mingmar Shangba.
They are farmers with four sons, just like her. As well as losing their home and livelihood, one of their grandchildren was killed in the tragedy.
Chris said at the time: “This is an immediate way to help.
“I started making cheese simply with a bucket and milk, so I’m sure they can too.”
Last year, Perthshire charity Bring Back The Smile To Nepal helped provide new classrooms for young victims of the quake.
Group founder Anna Gurung, a teacher from Kenmore, helped children in the villages of Jamuna and Tanahaun.
The charity donated £1000 to help fund new tables, carpets, resources, educational materials and redecoration for the small school.
Anna said at the time: “To be able to help make a difference to the lives of children has always been one of our long-term goals. The only way to break the cycle of poverty is through education.”
Bring Back The Smile To Nepal have also helped more than 100 families in Gorkha province and have received the backing of Joanna Lumley OBE.