Flying into the quake zone

MOST of us could do nothing but watch as heartbroken families grieved over relatives lost to the earthquake which devastated Iran.

For many spectators around the world the sad scenes will have created a frustrating sense of helplessness.

However, one group of Hampshire firefighters was able to do more than idly stand by.

As the rest of us celebrated Christmas, the eight-man UK Fire Service Search and Rescue team was on standby to fly to Iran to search for survivors trapped in the wreckage.

Days later they set off for the ancient city of Bam, some 630 miles south-east of the capital Tehran, which had been utterly destroyed by the seismic disaster.

After touching down in the Middle Eastern country, three of the team were immediately rushed to the scene by helicopter while the remainder travelled over land.

It was only 195 miles but the journey took 14 hours because the terrain was so badly damaged by the quake.

With a sector of the city assigned, they tried to find anyone who had survived the horrific ordeal.

Unfortunately, it was clear almost straight away there would be very few people still alive because of the way the buildings had been constructed.

Survival depends on buildings collapsing in such a way that voids are created.

In Bam the buildings crumbled completely leaving no pockets for trapped people to survive in. Although the team was disheartened by the discovery, they had no regrets about jetting to the ancient city.

The people of Iran were extraordinarily grateful for the way in which the international community rallied to help.

The team was able to bring back the personal effects of their ex-colleague Gavin Sexton who was tragically killed by the earthquake as he lived out his dream of travelling the world by motorbike.

Team leader Pete Crook, who often played sport with Mr Sexton, has worked in the voluntary outfit since its inception 12 years ago.

He said: "What we're looking for in these sites are the severely trapped people. When you arrive two days after the incident has happened all the obvious victims are self-rescued or rescued by locals.

"It's the people who are severely trapped that we go for. They may be under three layers of concrete which locals couldn't dig through.

"We can go into those extreme sites and operate in a professional way to give anyone who has got a possibility of surviving a chance.

"The problem in Iran was that there were no voids because the ceilings, roofs and walls crumbled completely or not at all.

"Big lumps of structure such as concrete slabs which fall down can create voids where people can survive.

"In Iran it became obvious very quickly that the type of structure didn't produce any voids.

"It was disappointing but that was the type of constructions there was."

Despite this crushing setback the Iranian people remained courteous, helpful and grateful.

Mr Crook said his team's efforts had been hampered in other countries by distraught or hostile locals.

"Often in these situations the locals are absolutely desperate for you to work on their house.

"They want their family members uncovered whether they are dead or alive but we have to explain we are only searching for live cases.

"We don't want to dig out dead bodies while down the street there could be someone trapped in a cellar who's alive.

"It can be difficult extracting ourselves from that situation but there was never a hint of that in Iran. People would say: 'We think there's someone alive here' and we would check and tell them there was not.

"Then they would just say thanks and let us move on.

"The Iranian people were absolutely fantastic. There's obviously political differences between East and West with Iran and we were aware that as British people we might not be the most popular people but there was no hint of that."

So how do the team feel at giving up their time over the festive season when they did not manage to recover any survivors?

"Sometimes we're asked is there any point in doing what we do. It's expensive and it's a big commitment. You could say we've been formed ten years and we've made very few rescues so what's the value?

"It's hard to measure but there's a tremendous number of other benefits that come into what we do."

Even when the team cannot rescue anyone they often provide closure for families who are worried a loved one could be trapped and in pain.

"Often rather than rescuing people we can only confirm they're definitely dead but at least their family can move on."

"It's not just the fact that you're rescuing people it's the fact that the local population can see that the rest of the world are trying to help in some way."

On previous occasions when the team has been rushed overseas to hunt for survivors they have been overwhelmed at the gratitude of the locals.

When they attended the earthquake that ripped Turkey apart in 1999 they were able to pull an elderly lady from the wreckage after a dramatic two-day rescue.

The team took over from a group of shattered Israeli rescuers who had found the woman alive.

The Hampshire firefighters then worked out her exact position - she was trapped under four floors - before tunnelling beneath the ground to rescue her.

Later, all the rescuers who had helped in Turkey were invited to what they thought was a debriefing conference. It turned out to be an extraordinarily touching gesture of thanks.

"We were invited back to Turkey to take part in a debriefing conference but it turned out to be a thank you from the Turkish people and we were overwhelmed.

"They invited us into a hall and the walls were covered with hundreds of posters drawn by schoolchildren from all over Turkey thanking the rescuers for going out and trying to help.

"We hadn't anticipated that the whole of the Turkish population really wanted to thank us for what we had done.

"Ten thousand people were killed and we rescued one person so we thought we had done very little.

"It was a very humbling experience."

Some people might question the value of a group which only has only made one major rescue in 12 years. But they would probably change their mind if they were trapped under a building in their own country.

The reality is that before firefighters started attending national disasters they had very little idea how to perform urban searches in collapsed buildings.

Now their expertise is growing by the day.

While Britain is far from the danger zone when it comes to volcanic eruptions and earthquakes we are directly in the firing line when it comes to terrorism as the Brighton bombings in the Eighties and the more recent September 11 attacks have shown.

Last year the team spent several months honing their skills training all over the world after the government realised their services could be essential.

Mr Crook said: "Terrorism is what's driven it through the 9/11 attacks when the government realised they could have a huge structure collapse and the fire brigade wouldn't have much of an idea of how to deal with it.

"Now we've got a very specialist team and specialist equipment.

"The local people in Hampshire can be sure that if they're involved in some sort of incident that they're got as good an urban rescue team as anywhere else in the country and probably the whole of the world."

HOW WE LISTEN FOR SIGNS OF LIFE:

Searches are initially intelligence led. Local people will talk to the team via interpreters and tell them where they believe people could still be alive.

A person might point out a building and report they knew a family member was in a certain room on a certain floor when the structure collapsed.

The team then performs a basic search with listening equipment called an acoustic and seismic detection device. If the machine, which can detect the slightest tap made for metres around, detects any signs of life, additional microphones are added to triangulate the exact position of the noise.

Once pinpointed, the team will use more kit to prove beyond doubt there is a person who can be saved.

Mr Crook said: "I'm putting guys under a building which could kill them. We have to ascertain it is worth us making a rescue attempt."

Concrete cutting tools, shoring equipment to support unstable structures and common sense are then the final tools which return the trapped casualty to their family and friends.

THE TOOLS:

Acoustic and seismic listening device: extremely sensitive tool which can hear the slightest tap or scratch of a trapped person.

Concrete and steel cutting tools: powerful diamond tipped blades help the team burrow through up to a foot of reinforced concrete.

Shoring: metal or wooden struts which support unstable structures.

Airbags: electrically inflated bags which can lift heavy slabs of concrete.

Snake eye search camera: camera on an adjustable boom which can see into inaccessible areas.

Ropes: used to haul casualties to safety.

Tents and food: UN regulations dictate the team must be capable of self-sufficiency for ten days to avoid draining local resources.