AMERICAN GIVING | Strengthening communities through generosity
08 October 2008
South Africa Develops Search and Rescue Capacity for World Cup
Long-range vision calls for helping all of Africa with disaster relief
Update:
On October 16, a real disaster occurred when a three-story office building under construction caved in. Two construction workers were killed. Press reports indicate that a total of 28 urban search-and-rescue technicians were sifting through rubble to locate victims on the day of the collapse. Ten of those were Johannesburg firefighters who had been trained by USAID (as outlined in the following article). They rescued 14 injured construction workers within two hours of arriving and gave them immediate treatment. Treatment included opening victims’ airways, stopping bleeding, immobilizing spines and positioning the patients safely in stretchers so they could be rushed to local hospitals.
Reverie Zurba of USAID said training chief Hugh Price-Hughes spoke to her from the disaster scene by cell phone. Price-Hughes said, “The skills of those who first arrived on the scene are very limited, so a lot of the guys trained by USAID are really helping a lot.”
By the next day, as the situation evolved, the task was one of removing debris. The police took over the operation, but Johannesburg firefighters stayed at the scene to assist. Press accounts indicate that authorities in South Africa are investigating the cause of the building collapse.
Johannesburg, South Africa — An idealistic retired car salesman and volunteer fire chief is cobbling together South Africa’s first urban search and rescue team to help his country, and later his continent, respond effectively when disasters happen.
The immediate goal of Ian Scher, the head of nonprofit Rescue South Africa, is to see that South Africa has in place an effective urban search and rescue team in time for the 2010 World Cup, which the country will host.
“That is the next big event. We are deploying teams of search and rescue workers at each major sporting event every week now, to get the men ready for 2010,” Scher said.
He spoke as rescue workers drawn from the ranks of the Johannesburg Fire Department demonstrated their skills at cutting holes in concrete slabs, placing cameras and listening devices into crevices created by collapsed structures and removing trapped victims.
Scher retired as a car salesman in 2005 and founded Rescue South Africa the same year. The other hat he wears is that of chief of the Johannesburg Volunteer Fire Department, where he has served for the past 29 years.
“Several years ago, I realized that South Africa had lost much of its capacity to save victims from disasters because experienced men had left the service or had been promoted to positions where they no longer use” their skills, Scher said. “I reached out to the U.S. Agency for International Development [USAID] and they formed a partnership with us to rebuild our search and rescue capacity. I can’t tell you how grateful I and the men around me are for the U.S. help.”
”Firemen the world over are part of brotherhood. The friendships we formed and the knowledge and skills we share are more valuable than any price tag.”
USAID arranged for search and rescue trainers employed in the fire departments of Fairfax County, Virginia, and Los Angeles County, California, to come to South Africa in 2006 and train firefighters who already had a foundation in search and rescue operations. The training had a stunning effect on the South Africans.
“The level of quality of how they operate was of the greatest value,” said Clifford Mokgathle, a Johannesburg firefighter specializing in emergency medical services. “They showed us the importance of good equipment and safety. For example, they stopped an exercise when we did not have a flash protector when we were using a cutting torch. They were very firm about that. They have the right attitude and discipline.”
Lybon Makhubele, another firefighter and rescue worker, said, “I learned skills and knowledge and the right attitude from the Americans — a variety of things. For me this is not a job. It is a calling. It’s all about having a heart and saving people. I helped save people in the Algerian earthquake in 2003. I am happy that the United States helped make me better.”
The transfer of skills and knowledge was not a one-way street. Dewey Perks, who led the trainers from Fairfax, said the Americans learned a lot from the Africans.
“For example, in America we have seven tools that do one thing. In South Africa, they have one tool that does seven things. The Africans taught us a lot about getting more done with less equipment. Of course, this reduces our costs and weight when we travel to disaster sites,” Perks said.
Information gleaned from the South Africans is now part of a database of an international association of rescue workers, Perks said, so the entire world benefits from the South Africans’ knowledge.
For the first USAID training, eight Americans came to train 26 South Africans. Since then, the South Africans have begun holding their own training sessions, and the Americans have come back to observe and mentor on two occasions. The training is having a rippling effect throughout South Africa. Scher intends for the ripples to extend throughout the continent.
“With our history of apartheid and the baggage we carry, we South Africans have to be seen as good citizens of the world. It is vital. When there are disasters in other parts of the world, South Africans have to be there. It is good for our national psyche and our new identity as citizens,” Scher said.
The USAID official who arranged the training for the South Africans, Harlan Hale, agrees with Scher that South Africa should become the training center for disaster relief in sub-Saharan Africa.
“The rate of urbanization in Africa is the fastest in the world. African governments have very limited capacity to put out fires and deal with other emergencies that break out in the shantytowns of the big cities. It is my dream that South Africa have a center for disaster response for its neighbors,” Hale said.
This has begun to happen in a small way. Mokgathle said he has taken charge of a program to bring 30 firefighters from Mozambique to develop their skills. “This is my little baby. I’m helping it start from the ground up,” he said.
