Capabilities
Engineers Capabilities
Engineers who wish to become actively involved in USAR activities need to be comfortable dealing with high pressure situations and able to make rapid decisions. A familiarity with disaster environments and the procedures of specialist USAR taskforces needs to be developed. This familiarity requires specific prior training and engagement with Local Emergency Services.
Two training levels for USAR Engineers are currently being delivered within Australia. These are:
Level 1 USAR Engineer
Operates on the outer perimeter of a structural collapse site
Designed for professional engineers aware of the issues associated with working alongside emergency services personnel
Level 2 USAR Engineer
Operates within a structural collapse site to assess overall structure and element stability
Capable of operating with USAR Taskforces.
USAR Taskforce specialist course
Prerequisites
Level 1 Graduate Engineers and above from any technical discipline who have completed Category 1 USAR training.
Level 2 Chartered Professional Engineers (structural and geotechnical) who have completed USAR Level 1 Engineer and Category 1 USAR. To operate with a USAR taskforce, engineers will also have to have completed a Taskforce specialist course and have completed at least 1 shift of a 48 hour category 2 exercise.
Canine Capabilities
Canine resources are available within Australia however there has not yet been a coordinated approach to the registration and certification of Canine Teams.
In order to alleviate this situation, the NUSARWG in December 2004 agreed to the following standards for Canine Teams considering participating in USAR operations.
Teams must be certified to one of the following recognised standards:
- Australian Swiss Search Dog Association (ASSDA) USAR Advanced Operational Test or its International REDOG equivalent.
(Details can be found at http://assda-sardogs.org/1_5/1_5.html) - FEMA Type 1 Disaster Search canine. A disaster search canine that has successfully completed the FEMA Disaster Search Canine Readiness evaluation criteria for Type 1.
(Details can be found at http://www.fema.gov/usr/canine.shtm) - New Zealand Urban Search and Rescue. Canine Readiness Evaluation Process. Advanced Level.
(Details can be found at http://www.usar.govt.nz/usarwebsite.nsf/?OpenDatabase)
In addition to having completed the following recognised training:
- Category 1 USAR training
- USAR Taskforce specialist course