"Our participation in the rescue mission in Haiti should not be analysed through a prism of the number of people rescued from the ruins. We went there on call of international community; being among the global rescue elite, we were obliged to go there. Our mission has showed that regardless of the distance and circumstances, we are always ready to provide help, where it is needed," says Chief Commandant of the State Fire Service Senior Brigadier Wiesław Leśniakiewicz in a talk with Bogdan Romanowski.
From Slavery To Enslavement
"The question that all visitors to Haiti ask themselves is whether there is any hope for the country, and the usual answer is: no". After the earthquake of 12 January 2010, this harsh diagnosis given by Jared Diamond in a short case study has turned out to be very accurate. Even before the January tragedy, the country, afflicted by natural disasters (mainly hurricanes and floods) every year, was one of the poorest countries in the world. The earthquake and the extent of losses have uncovered the weakness of national structures and gaps in the basic safety rules. By Elżbieta Przyłuska.
Hell on Earth
On 12 January 2010, when it is 10.53 pm in Poland, 10,000 kilometres away to the south-east, in Haiti it is 4.53 pm and a tragedy starts. A huge earthquake, 7.3 on the Richter scale, with its epicentre near Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti, wrecks the city. Buildings and infrastructure are destroyed both in the capital and in the nearby towns. Initial estimate says that three million people were affected by the disaster; a hundred thousand people lost their lives. More in an article by Marek Komorowski, Mariusz Feltynowski and Michał Langner.
24 Hours a Day
In April 2009 a heavy search and rescue team of the SFS obtained a certification according to the INSARAG guidelines. During the certification exercises, the team was in Neverland - an imaginary country, which was hit by an earthquake. Junior Brigadier Mariusz Feltynowski and Brigadier Marek Komorowski tell Elżbieta Przyłuska about the relevance of those exercises to the reality they found in Haiti.
Specialist Search and Rescue Team "Mazowsze"
Specialist Search and Rescue Team "Mazowsze" was created in 2000. It has rescue dogs and specialist electronic and technical equipment. Its members are qualified rescuers trained specially to be able to locate, access and take out casualties from under the rubble. The team was created on the basis of Fire and Rescue Unit no. 1 and Fire and Rescue Unit no. 11; currently only Fire and Rescue Unit no. 1 and is supported by rescuers from specialist units, rescuers working at height from Fire and Rescue Unit no.7 and medical rescuers from Fire and Rescue Unit no. 8. More in the article by Agnieszka Wójcik.
Search and Rescue Team from the Małopolska Province
Search and Rescue Dogs Section at the Voluntary Fire Service in Niskowa was created in January 1994 at the initiative of Maciej Halota, the head of the Fire and Rescue Unit of the SFS in Nowy Sącz and the activists of the Chełmiec Commune Office. At that time, the section could not be created within the structure of the State Fire Service because of lacking legal basis. In July 1994 the section started its cooperation with the Special Task Rescue Group of the Polish Red Cross in Sopot - at that time the only organization in Poland training search and rescue dogs for work on the rubble. More in the article by Elżbieta Przyłuska.
Specialist Search and Rescue Team "Łódź"
Specialist Search and Rescue Team "Łódź" was created in March 2006 on the basis of the City HQ and the Regional HQ of the SFS in Łódź. Currently there are 40 firefighters in the team. It is composed of the command, the search section, the technical section, the medical unit and the logistics. There are four rescue dogs in the search section: Argo, Bilbo, Hato, Macho. The teams equipment includes such tools as rescue ropes, evacuation harnesses, ladders, steel-cutting saws and concrete-cutting saws, wood-cutting chainsaws, hydraulic rescue kits, GPS navigation devices, a pontoon, emergency power generators, geophones, a searching camera and medical equipment. By Agnieszka Wójcik.
Specialist Search and Rescue Team "Gdańsk"
Specialist Search and Rescue Team from Gdańsk was created at the City HQ of the SFS by a decision of the regional chief fire officer on 30 July 1998 as Search and Rescue Team of the State Fire Service in Gdańsk. Because of the organizational changes, on 4 September 2007, the regional chief fire officer of the SFS in Gdańsk created again the Specialist Search and Rescue Team. Composed of 24 rescuers from the City HQ of the SFS in Gdańsk and the Voluntary Fire Service in Gdańsk, the team is divided into three units: the command with a team commander and a communication officer (City HQ of the SFS in Gdańsk), search unit - rescue dog handlers and electronic locating device operators (Fire and Rescue Unit no. 5 in Gdańsk-Oliwa, Voluntary Fire Service in Gdańsk) and medical unit with technical staff, rescuers working at height, medical rescuers and a doctor. By Agnieszka Wójcik.
Specialist Search and Rescue Team "Poznań"
Specialist Search and Rescue Team "Poznań" was created in 2000 by a decision of the regional chief fire officer of the SFS in the Wielkopolska province. He ordered the district chief fire officer of the SFS in Poznań to organize the team on the basis of the resources of Fire and Rescue Unit no. 4.
There are thirty-three rescuers and six dogs in the team. Dog handlers with their dogs put in the greatest deal of effort in their exercises together with Section Leader Magdalena Nowicka, their tireless trainer. Regardless of the season and weather, the trainings take place several times a week. The remaining components of the team exercise equally hard. The results of their work are verified during rescue actions, exams and regular exercises on training grounds with best rescuers from all over Europe. By Tomasz Krajnik.
Transportation Dilemmas
Another rescue action of a Polish search and rescue team abroad, the first such action after obtaining the international INSARAG certification in 2009, has again sparked a discussion on the subject: "What do we need it for?" Many critical opinions have been presented also on the message board of Strazak.pl website. Next to typical spiteful remarks there were comments resulting from ignorance. By Tomasz Gartowski.
Quick Lesson
"If it is necessary and my superiors assign me to such tasks, I will have no doubts, and I think that my colleagues, especially those who were with rescuers in those first days, will have no doubts as well," says Major Andrzej Kondras, who was in command of a group of Government Protection Bureau officers during an action in Haiti, in a talk with Elżbieta Przyłuska.
Help in Time
The victims of the earthquake in Haiti need shelter, fresh water, food, medications, hygiene kits, and, in the long-term, everything necessary for a normal life, among other things house fittings, access to schools or the possibility to move freely around the city. Another important issue is the psychological support, as many people will need it for the rest of their lives. Therefore, the humanitarian aid in this case is a very broad concept. Organizations bringing the aid fulfil those tasks differently. More in the article by Agnieszka Wójcik.
Wielkopolska Province Struggle with Winter
We have not seen such intensive snowfall in our region for years. Heavy wind causing blizzards made the situation even more difficult. During just one day the firefighters had to go to almost 400 incident. Snow lingering on roofs and icicles hanging from buildings were removed all the time. By Sławomir Brandt.
Actions in Snow
Difficult conditions on the roads of the Podlasie province cause huge problems for traffic. Firefighters had to intervene as many as 17 times to help ambulances get out of snow drifts. We often forget about a serious threat posed by snow lingering on roofs. Here are several examples of winter interventions. By Marcin Janowski.
Flood in Winter
Flood hazard on the area of the Lubelskie province is caused to a great extent by water flowing down the largest rivers in the region, i.e. the Vistula, Bug River, the Wieprz River and their tributaries.
Long-lasting and heavy rainfall causes a rapid rise of the water level in the rivers and, subsequently, a flood wave. Rapid rainfall or thaw cause also flooding, which are usually of local character and have no significant influence on the water level in the main rivers. By Ryszard Starko.
January Paralysis in Silesia
"Increased cloud cover is expected over the Silesia province. It will bring snowfall, which will turn in the evening and at night into sleet and freezing rain, causing glare ice. The temperature should remain at 0 degrees centigrade. Heavy wind will cause blizzards." Such a weather forecast for 8 and 9 January was sent to all the district and city SFS HQ in the Silesia province and it did not foreshadow any extraordinary difficulties. By Jarosław Wojtasik.
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