Disaster relief: New unit on the cards for urban rescue

Rescue 1122 has sent a proposal for setting up Urban Search and Rescue Unit to CM

LAHORE: The Punjab Emergency Service (Rescue 1122) has sent a proposal to the chief minister for the establishment of an Urban Search and Rescue Unit. It will be modelled after the army’s Engineering Corps and will deal with any building-collapse incident.

A Rescue 1122 spokesperson said that a final decision on the proposal was expected in a week.

“The procurement of equipment for the new unit will start once the approval is granted. A committee comprising representatives of Pakistan Army, the Capital Development Authority, the Provincial Disaster Management Authority and the Home Department will oversee the purchase of equipment. The process will be completed in four months. Training of rescuers is already in progress,” he said.

Work on the proposal was initiated on the direction of the CM.



Under the proposal, a copy of which is available with The Express Tribune, the unit will have nine teams. “Each team will comprise 65 members. A team each will be posted in all administrative divisions. Four officers will head each team,” the proposal states.

“Every divisional team will have urban search and rescue equipment including two ultrawideband (UWB) victim detectors, two acoustic listening devices, two fibre optic search camera, two excavators, five hydraulic combi tools (multi purpose), five chipping hammers and five rotary hammer drills,” the document states.

Each team will have eight rotary rescue saws (K-12), one crane, five heavy-duty pneumatic chisels, five pneumatic concrete chainsaws, 30 hydraulic jacks, 30 hydraulic rams, five rescue hydraulic concrete crushers, 30 pneumatic lifting bags, five hydraulic spreaders, five air cushions and three multi-gas detectors.

Vehicles for each divisional team will include one truck for transportation, one fabricated truck for carrying equipment and one rapid response vehicle for the team leader.

Each team will be headed by a district emergency officer. An Urban Search and Rescue Committee will be established in each district. The DCOs will be responsible for coordination, liaison and logistic support for these teams. The committees will hold quarterly meetings.

“The establishment of the unit will enhance the Rescue 1122’s capability to respond to building-collapse emergencies throughout the Punjab. Currently, only the Engineering Corps of the army has such a capability,” the document states. Last month, Rescue 1122 Director General Dr Arshad Zia had stated that the need for such a unit had been felt in the aftermath of the attack on former home minister Col (r) Shuja Khanzada.

There will be 25 rescuers trained in the job in each district. “The district teams will have a rescue vehicle each. Their equipment will include one chipping hammer for cutting concrete, one rotary hammer drill, one angular grinder for metal sheet cutting, one reciprocating saw, one chainsaw cutter, one Petrogen cutter (flame cutter), one 16KV generator, one hydraulic jack, four manual rams, a three-tonne capacity vehicle-mounted winch and one hydraulic cutter,” the document states. The district team will respond immediately to a disaster.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 23^rd,  2015.