POST INCIDENT REPORT - Divisional Officer Andy Dermott

INTRODUCTION

Our assistance was requested on Boxing Day, we flew out to Thailand on the 27th December and returned on January 1st. The deployment was a natural progression of a canine search project, the details of which are attached as an appendix to this report.

Following our arrival in Bangkok, we transferred to a flight for Phuket and once there, travelled north to the town of Takua Pa in Phang Nga province. This was the principal town in the province and was the command centre for the provincial Local Emergency Management Authority.

We met up with the Search Dog Unit and were informed that we would be working in the Khoa Lak area. The following morning (Wed 29th) we travelled to the area of operations. The Major in command of the team decided to split the team in two, with both me and Keith acting as an advisor to a sub section of 3 dogs, their handlers, body recovery teams and a section commander. One team was tasked with continuing search operations in the Soffitel Magic Lagoon, Khoa Lak where the day before the team had recovered approximately 100 bodies. That morning other military units, a German team, and ourselves located and recovered another 40 bodies. In the afternoon we rejoined the other team who had earlier been searching a construction site on the Khoa Lak peninsular. These searches had located nearly 150 bodies although over 100 were not recovered at that time as they were in a basement.

RETURN

Keith and I left Takua Pa on the evening of the 30th, stayed that night in Pkuket and then caught an early morning flight to Bangkok, At Bangkok we were able to book seats on that evening's flight to London, where we arrived at 06.30 the following day.

For the last 5 years, members of the Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Team have been cooperating with the Military Dog School of the Thai Army in a project to assist the development of the units Collapsed Structure Search Dog capability. These dogs are the only trained collapsed structure dogs in Thailand. Effem, a Thai company that is part of the Mars Masterfood Group, funds this project, the local UK agents being Pedigree Pet foods based in Melton Mowbray. The project involves the acquisition and development of search dogs that are competent to operate in an urban collapsed structure environment. Brigade members regularly fly out to Thailand to work with the dogs and their handlers, the costs being borne by the company. Pedigree Pet foods also supports the Fire Service Urban Search and Rescue Dog group in the UK and team members from other Brigades have recently been involved in the project.

Following the Tsunami on Boxing Day, the Colonel in command of the Dog Section was ordered to put the Search Dog Unit on standby to respond to Phuket. He decided to request the support of the UK trainers in order to provide technical and command support to the Thai Officer in Charge as this would be the first time that the unit had operated in a real incident. The request for assistance was received late on Boxing Day, and our Chief Fire Officer agreed that our support could be provided.

We liased with DFID (Department for International Development) in line with normal UKFSSART arrangements.

Effem facilitated the travel arrangements from the UK to Thailand.