Earthquake in Turkey
West Sussex Fire Brigade Report
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Earthquake in Turkey
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West Sussex Fire Brigade Report
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On August 17 at 3:02 a.m. local time, an earthquake measuring 7.81 on the Richter scale struck Izmit, Turkey, an industrial city of one million inhabitants in western Turkey. Izmit is approximately 50 miles east-southeast of Istanbul, Turkey's largest city. Aftershocks were felt following the initial temblor with some registering more than 5.0 on the Richter scale. The major areas affected included the region of Yalova.
Mobilisation
In the evening of the 17th a contingent of the United Kingdom Fire Service Search and Rescue Team (UKFSSART) was sent to Turkey. This first contingent consisted of teams from the brigades of South Wales, West Midlands, Leicestershire, Cheshire and Mid & West Wales.
On the 18th, a day after the quake, our team was alerted and asked to deploy, the West Sussex Team consisted of DO Simon Webb, Stn O Mark Osborne, Stn O Tim Eady, LFf St John Stanley, LFf Ian Smith, Ff Brian Vincent and Doctor Ian McNeil (known to many as a SIMCAS Doctor). We were mobilised with other UKFSSART teams from Essex, Kent, Hampshire, West Midlands and two dogs and their handlers.
With the assistance of many people within the brigade we were the first team to arrive at RAF Lyneham in Wiltshire, from where we travelled to Istanbul by Hercules.
At Istanbul airport we met our two interpreters and set off in three coaches for Yalova, a ferry journey of two hours across the Marmaris sea.
On Scene
We spent the next two days carrying out searches of mainly apartment blocks in two areas, using the dog teams and the Vibraphones, both of which can pinpoint trapped people. The teams were entering collapsed and partially collapsed buildings in temperatures up to 40 degrees.
We worked by dividing the resort into numbered buildings, using the five teams, and a Finnish team on the second day, we had three teams systematically searching the apartments, one team on standby to respond to local requests, and one team resting and feeding. At times all the teams were committed, we could not turn down a request for help.
At the end of two days it was becoming more of a body recovery exercise and it was decided that we had done all we could and so we returned to Istanbul to meet up with the first contingent from where we all returned to Heathrow on the evening of the 22nd August.
The United Kingdom Fire Service Search and Rescue Team together with the UK International Rescue Corps. had carried out some 200 searches during their time in Turkey and had directly rescued three people and assisted in numerous other rescues in six locations.
Aftermath
We returned home full of admiration and sorrow for a people who had suffered such an horrific disaster, but had showed such dignity, tolerance and compassion.
Debriefs have been held both locally and in the West Midlands, and the lessons from Turkey will be used to refine our response. Although seven team members went to Turkey there were many of you who assisted us together with the partners and families we left behind, we all played a part in relieving the suffering of this disaster and can be proud, as we left Istanbul the UK team were handed a note, it read:
Sometimes there are lots of words
Sometimes there are few
We saw you come
We saw you work
The only words are 'thank you'
WSFB Search and Rescue Team
Photographs
