By Capt Matt Sukstorf, 19 Wing Fire Chief
17 Oct to 29 Oct 2016 saw members of the RCAF Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) team complete training to become Technical Search Specialists and Structural Collapse Technicians. The intensive training took place with FEMA’s Massachusetts Task Force 1 (Mass TF1) in Beverly, MA. Members of the USAR team were trained on a variety of subjects such as effective detection and confirmation of victims in collapsed buildings and rubble piles, shoring and stabilisation of damaged buildings, movement of heavy objects and rubble to effectuate rescue, and breaking/breaching into collapse zones to rescue victims.
This top notch training was provided by senior members of Mass TF1 and USAR experts across the United States to 9 members of USAR Comox and 5 members of USAR Trenton with the goal of elevating their rescue skills to handle any USAR situation. CAF members were joined by US Army members, fire fighters, and other first responders from the New England area to complete the course. This course compromises part of the requirements to be a deployable USAR member.
RCAF USAR maintains a strong working relationship with the Mass TF1 team having completed training together on numerous occasions and deploying on exercise as a task force this past summer on EX VIGILANT GUARD in Vermont, USA.
The RCAF USAR team comprises fire fighters from 19 and 8 Wing, who maintain a 24-hour NTM to respond and deploy to any natural or manmade disaster, both domestic and international, in conjunction with the DART.
