MaltaMedia.com

A number of Civil Protection volunteers, known as S.P.I.D.E.R. (Specialised Personnel in Disaster and Emergency Response) are undergoing a training exercise in USAR techniques. The scope of the exercise is to perform search and rescue of persons who may be trapped under rubble caused by collapsed structures in the unlikely event of a major disaster, such as an earthquake.

This exercise – the second one this year – is taking place at the ex-Ħal Ferħ complex, where a scenario has been specifically set up for this purpose. A number of systems will be tested amongst which, search techniques, methods of penetration through buildings and fallen debris and rescue of casualties and survivors. The exercise will also see the participation of members of the Police Corps immigration section who will be testing new human radar equipment which has the ability of pinpointing the location of living organisms buried under rocky material. The methods used in the exercise are in line with International Search and Rescue Guidelines adopted by most of the agencies that operate in this field and in the field of Humanitarian assistance programmes.

The Department has recruited a number of volunteers to be able to offer their assistance in CPD operations in major emergency events. For this purpose, a number of persons coming from different walks of life are offering their services voluntarily in different sections of the Departments, such as the fire stations, diving section, communications and search and rescue.

The Department is also committed to work closely with all non-government and international organisations in the field of disaster reduction and response. Various organisations have worked closely with the CPD during mass gathering events, such as the visit of H.H. Pope Benedict XVI and the Isle of MTV.

The Department has recently signed an agreement with the Comune of Badolato in the Region of Calabria and the Italian Civil Protection operational group Edelweiss to conduct training in both countries. This initiative has helped to reinforce the cooperation that exists between the countries in the field of civil protection.

Speaking during a brief visit at the site of the exercise, Minister for Justice and Home Affairs, Carm Mifsud Bonnici stressed on the importance of keeping all human resources trained in dealing with emergency situations in a constant state of readiness through exercised such as this. He thanked all the S.P.I.D.E.R. volunteers involved in this exercise as well as Island Hotels Group Managing Director Mr. Winston J. Zahra for providing the site were the exercise is taking place.