US soldier instructs Filipino counterparts during a joint military exercise. REUTERS FILE PHOTO
Soldiers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the US Hawaii Army National Guard (HIARNG) jointly conducted here a shoulder-to-shoulder training on how to move into collapsed buildings in case of real world urban search and rescue (USAR).
The training was conducted on April 24, where “54 Filipino
participants from the AFP and the Palawan Bureau of Fire Protection (PBFP)
practiced basic shoring techniques,” according to a news release of the Defense
Media Activity-Hawaii News Bureau (DMA-HNB) written by Staff Sgt. Chris
Hubenthal and posted on Defense Video and Imagery Distribution System (DVIDS).
Shoring is the method of “supporting a building, vessel,
structure, or trench with props when they are in danger of collapse.”
US Army Staff Sgt. Jim Evangelista of HIARNG explained how
the training should prepare the AFP to respond better to cases of natural or
man-made disaster.
“Before the rescuer can enter a building they need to secure
and stabilize the collapsed structure,” Evangelista said.
“What I taught them is that the first thing that you need to
know as a rescuer is that you need to rescue yourself, your teammates, and then
the victim. It doesn’t make sense if you’re going into a building that’s not
stable.”
In the training, preparation for a USAR situation had the
Filipino participants construct “t-spots, double t-spots, flying rakers, and
split sole rakers” to thwart a damaged building from collapsing.
Philippine Army Sgt. Vanessa May Sumanga, 408th Palawan
Community Defense Center (PCDC) criminologist, one of the participants,
appreciated the experience and thought it has equipped her with knowledge to
prepare her better to respond to such an incident.
“Staff Sgt. Evangelista taught me how to do basic shoring if
there was ever a building collapse and how to rescue a victim,” the release, on
the other hand, quoted Sumanga. “From my basic knowledge given by Sir
Evangelista, I will be able to help rescue victims.”
“Hopefully they can use the training because they are hit by
a lot of typhoons and other real world events,” Ito said, adding “The Filipinos
are very receptive, open to everything, and very eager to learn.”
This year marks the 31st iteration of the exercise, which is
an annual Philippines-US bilateral military training exercise and humanitarian
civic assistance engagement.
http://www.interaksyon.com/article/109702/urban-search-and-rescue-techniques-stressed-in-balikatan-2015
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