Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs s1

OFFICE FOR THE COORDINATION OF HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS

(OCHA)

International

Search and Rescue

Advisory Group

Report on the Meeting of the

INSARAG Regional Group of the Americas

Fairfax County, USA, 2 to 5 May 2002

21

The designations employed and the

11

Meeting of the INSARAG Regional Group of the Americas

Fairfax County, USA

2 to 5 May 2002

Summary Report

Annexes:

Annex 1: Agenda

Annex 2: Statement by Mr. Kenzo Oshima, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator

Annex 3: List of participants

1.  Opening

Mr. Edward Stinnette, Fire Chief, Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department welcomed the 63 participants from 16 countries and 5 organizations. Mr. Stinnette underlined the importance of the work of INSARAG as a contribution to improving the work of the international response community.

Mr. Paul Bell, Senior Regional Advisor for Latin America, United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and Chairman of the INSARAG Regional Group of the Americas, highlighted the achievements of the Group since its last meeting in Miami, particularly the establishment of the INSARAG Website in Spanish and the translation of the Guidelines into Spanish. This document had been made available to all participants. Mr. Bell pointed out that the Guidelines should be considered as a dynamic document. He requested inputs in writing from the members of the Regional Group with amendments, which would reflect the realities of terminology used in the Region.

Mr. Gerhard Putman-Cramer Deputy Director (Natural Disaster Policy) and Chief, Emergency Services Branch (ESB), Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) expressed his appreciation to the Government of the United States and the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department for hosting and organizing the meeting and for their commitment and continuous support to INSARAG. He stressed the importance of the new challenges faced by the world, following the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks in the USA, which also broadened the scope of the work of INSARAG. Mr. Putman-Cramer thanked Mr. Paul Bell for his excellent work as chairman of the INSARAG Regional Group of the Americas during the last year, which resulted in the dissemination of INSARAG's work and documents in Spanish and included the identification of INSARAG stakeholders in the Americas Region. He summarized the tangible results that had been achieved by INSARAG since the strengthening of the Regional Groups Asia/Pacific and the Americas in recent years and emphasized the challenges ahead for INSARAG. These included the nomination of INSARAG Focal Points in member countries, the identification of skilled OSOCC liaison persons in SAR teams, the organization of regional SAR exercises, and the integration of the United Nations and INSARAG disaster response concepts into the national disaster management plan of INSARAG member countries.

Mr. Richard Owens, Operations Director/Division Chief, Office for US Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA), USAID, pointed out that OFDA considered INSARAG to be a key partner in the development and support of regional networks. The task was firstly to save lives and also to develop prevention strategies with partner organizations and nations to enable them mitigate the economic impact of disasters. Mr. Owens declared the meeting open.

Mr. Joseph Bishop, Emergency Management Consultant to OCHA and Facilitator presented the agenda of the meeting, which was adopted by participants. The agenda is attached as Annex I to this report.

2.  Principles and Process of INSARAG Membership

Mr. Thomas Peter, Deputy Chief, Field Coordination Support Section (FCSS), ESB, OCHA, presented an overview of the principles for ensuring effective management of the rapidly expanding INSARAG network in three regions (i.e. Africa/Europe, Asia/Pacific and the Americas). The main challenges are Government commitment and, in particular, the identification of focal points in member countries. The focal points would be responsible for coordinating activities of governmental search and rescue (SAR) teams as well as those from NGOs or voluntary organizations within their country. They should also ensure information exchange between SAR teams within the country and the INSARAG Secretariat in OCHA. Mr. Peter emphasized that the INSARAG network comprises both assistance providing, as well as receiving, countries. The obligation of SAR team managers from INSARAG member countries is to train and equip their teams in accordance with the INSARAG Guidelines. This included the training of skilled liaison persons who would be responsible for managing the international SAR operation within an On-Site Operations Coordination Centre (OSOCC) in major disasters in cooperation with the authorities of the affected country. NGO and volunteer SAR teams who wished to join the INSARAG network would require a letter of recognition by their respective Government.

3.  Presentation of Chile’s disaster management structure and national disaster management training concept

Mr. Oscar Gonzalez, Director, Academia Nacional de Bomberos, Chile, presented the history of Fire Brigades in Chile, with a long tradition of volunteer fire fighters. Initially self financed, in the 20th century the fire brigades became dependent on state financing while maintaining their status as private corporations. In 1980 the National Academy of Firefighters was founded to provide professional training for Chilean firefighters and, with assistance from OFDA, for the training of instructors. With its large number of volcanoes, Chile is also vulnerable to earthquakes and in 1993 a small USAR training project was started. This now consisted of four modules: a basic course at two levels and an advanced course also at two levels. To facilitate participation by volunteers, the courses are of 21/2 days duration, concentrating on collapsed structures and using existing texts and methodology developed in the United States. To date 19 courses had been held and the project was integrated into the Curso Búsqueda y Rescate en Estructuras Colapsadas (Curso BREC) (Course on Search and Rescue in Collapsed Structures). During the follow-up discussion, Mr. Gonzalez pointed out that in Chile, the Oficina Nacional de Emergencia (ONEMI) (National Emergency Office) would take the role of the Local Emergency Management Centre (LEMA). The Chilean Fire Brigade could welcome participants in its courses from neighbouring countries and would seek ways to cooperate with other countries in the region.

4.  Presentation of experience in recent disasters in the region

Presentation by Mr. Tulio Nicolini, Chief, Peruvian Volunteer Fire Brigade, Peru concerning the fire in the Mesa Redonda shopping mall, on 23 December 2002. In preparation for the upcoming holidays, the crowded shopping mall in the old part of Lima contained some 3,000 stands selling different types of merchandise, including a large number of fireworks. The Government had not established effective measures to implement legal obligations for storage of fireworks. Additional security constraints included the lack of a separate water supply network for fire fighting. Fire fighting hydrants were connected to the public water network, which had insufficient water pressure. The roads in this area are too narrow for easy access by modern fire fighting trucks and in addition were crowded with vehicles and shoppers, delaying the arrival of the firefighters for at least 20 minutes. Due to financial constraints, volunteer fire fighters use only 2.5 inches fire hoses, which are unsuitable for fighting large-scale fires effectively. The fire spread quickly due to the construction of the buildings and inadequate storage facilities for merchandise. Evacuation of the area was hampered because some shop owners locked themselves into their premises for fear of looting, and the many shops did not have emergency exits. Further explosions caused panic and people were trampled to death. The 759 fire fighters took more than eight hours to extinguish the fire. The disaster left 290 casualties and caused 473 injured. The lessons learned can be summarized as follows:

-  Need for improvement of existing legal norms and standards and their implementation by the Government;

-  Awareness-raising among the population, particularly regarding the handling of fireworks;

-  Improvement of infrastructure, particularly the establishment of a separate water supply network for fire fighting;

-  Establishment of procedures for crowd control.

Presentation by Mr. Adolfo Rubatto, Deputy Commander for Lima, Peruvian Volunteer Fire Brigade, Peru, concerning the car bomb explosion in a shopping centre adjacent to the United States Embassy on 30 March 2002, the eve of the United States President’s visit to Lima. The terrorist bomb was placed below a car, and its explosion caused 9 fatalities, injuring 40 persons. The subsequent fire destroyed a nearby bank and severely affected a hotel and shops. The Fire Brigade established a command post at the site and mobilized four rescue vehicles, 2 ambulances and 2 water trucks (since there was no access to water at the site).

Presentation by Miami Dade Fire and Rescue Department and Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department, USA, on the SAR operations following the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 at the World Trade Center in New York, and the Pentagon, Washington DC. The presentation covered the response mechanism of the US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the composition of SAR Task Forces as well as an overview of lessons learned during the response operation. The operations in fact covered three incidents in one: a large building fire, a large building collapse and a plane crash.

The main challenges were the selection of an appropriate Base of Operations, site and area traffic management, security and safety of Task Force members during the operations, inter-agency coordination on site, media and VIP management, support for members of the Task Forces and their families, and round the clock operations and the rotation of SAR teams over a long period. The main challenge with regard to the technical operation was the difficulty of penetrating a high-security building and the need for large-scale shoring at the Pentagon and the cutting of the enormous steel elements that remained after the collapse of the World-Trade Center. Training had concentrated on concrete structures. In addition the objective of the Teams had always been the extrication of trapped persons and in this operation the imperative was the recovery of victims. In Washington the departure assembly point was changed to a fire station near the incident and the lesson learned was that established procedures should always be followed. The nation-wide standardization of team structure and methodology proved very efficient during the hand-over between Task Forces from various parts of the country.

Mr. Ricardo Mena, OCHA Regional Disaster Response Advisor for Latin America and the Caribbean, discussed the initiative to create a USAR Directory in Latin America to provide a realistic idea of the resources available in region. Some eight countries had completed the registration form. He encouraged other countries to submit information on their assets using the form available on the Internet at www.undp.org.ec/ocha-rdra.

5.  Statement by the INSARAG Chairman, Mr. Toni Frisch

Mr. Toni Frisch, Delegate for Humanitarian Aid and Head, Swiss Humanitarian Aid Unit, Switzerland, Chairman of INSARAG, recalled the history of INSARAG, which has its origin in the aftermath of the Armenia earthquake in 1988. He expressed his deep satisfaction with the present developments of the INSARAG family whereby the original ideas of INSARAG had led to the establishment of a worldwide actively functioning network. He expressed his appreciation to the members of the INSARAG Secretariat in OCHA (and its predecessors, DHA and UNDRO), for their continuous support and cooperation. A tangible demonstration of the importance that OCHA gave to the work of INSARAG was the visit of Mr. Kenzo Oshima, Emergency Relief Coordinator and Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs to the present meeting of the Americas Regional Group.

Mr. Frisch expressed his satisfaction with the achievements of INSARAG, in particular the development of the common Guidelines, training and exercises, as well as cooperation during emergency response operations and the development of the Virtual OSOCC. Mr. Frisch had just participated in a meeting in Ottawa, Canada, of countries supporting OCHA, which highlighted the excellent cooperation between OCHA and the international donor community.

He stressed that INSARAG’s activities were are core to the work of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR), for which a similar group of supporting countries was identified at the Ottawa meeting. He was pleased at the interest shown in INSARAG methodology by regional disaster response mechanisms of the European Union and NATO. An important issue to be addressed in the future was the development and maintenance of a capacity building concept within the INSARAG network. The events of 11 September 2001, had given a new dimension to international cooperation and the use of SAR Teams.

Mr. Frisch concluded by reiterating the need for commitment to the network by INSARAG’s member countries and congratulated all INSARAG members, the chairmen of the Regional Groups as well as the INSARAG Secretariat for the achievements to date.

6.  Election of Vice Chairman for the Regional group of the Americas

At the meeting of the Regional Group of the Americas in May 2001, it was decided that a new vice chairman be elected annually. It was also decided that the chairman would remain in his function for two years to ensure continuity in the process of strengthening the Regional Group of the Americas in the initial phase.

Mr. Paul Bell thanked the retiring Vice-Chairman, Mr. Jaime Benalcazar, Commander General of Quito Fire Brigade, Ecuador, and expressed his appreciation for Mr. Benalcazar's work and support during the year. Mr. Benalcazar thanked participants for their cooperation during his year of office and the last year and expressed his recognition for the constructive work carried out with Mr. Paul Bell.

Mr. Jorge Ayala, Executive Secretary, CEPREDENAC, was nominated as vice-chairman, given his extensive experience in the field of USAR and his understanding and knowledge of the Latin American region. Participants at the meeting accepted the proposal and Mr. Jorge Ayala was duly elected. Mr. Ayala said that he was pleased and honoured to be elected. He was looking forward to the challenges that came with this new responsibility as Vice-Chairman of the Regional Group of the Americas and to working together with the Chairman, Mr. Paul Bell.