Abstract
Aim: The aim of the article is to present the obstacles which constitute the so-called “barrier effect” while exploring the area of urban search and rescue operations on the first day after an earthquake. It also includes preliminary results of research conducted under the implementation project “EASeR”, aimed at developing procedures and outlines for fire-fighters from Italy, helping them minimise the “barrier effect”. They may also prove useful for other countries.
Introduction: In the introduction, the authors outline the circumstances of the establishing of the INSARAG International Search and Rescue Advisory Group at the UN and its European counterpart with a broader spectrum of responsibilities (the EU Civil Protection Mechanism), along with the legal basis for the organisation, as well as recall the international guidelines defining standards and methodologies for the Search and Rescue Groups (GPR). The mechanism is responsible not only for USAR but also for almost 20 types of different civil protection assets. The authors also recall the whole cycle of the GPR mission, along with examples of natural disasters and circumstances that have led to the launching of the EASeR project. Finally, the assumptions of the project and its partners are presented.
Methodology: The initial research material related to the subject matter in question included international UN and EU normative documents establishing the organisational and operational standards for the conduction of actions, and the operation of search and rescue groups (USAR), as well as exemplary EU implementation projects. The identification of the initial “obstacles limiting the conduction of initial assessments (ASR 1–3) at the scene of action, defined by Italian fire-fighters from Pisa as a “barrier effect”, was the starting point for a wider analysis of the facts, and the development of a questionnaire and international surveys, using a diagnostic survey in over a dozen countries around the world.
Conclusions: The quantitative data and opinions on the main obstacles encountered during the disaster reconnaissance allowed the project experts to confirm or reject the pre-assumptions for the projected content of the final project documents, and during further meetings, it was possible to develop the final versions of operational procedures indexes for emergency services in Italy, as well as the index of guidelines for international USAR in the field of reconnaissance in the initial phase (the so-called ASR 1–3). After the consultation of the final project documents (procedures and guidelines), as a result of the collected opinions and further expert work, the second phase of the project was to take place.
Keywords: Urban Search and Rescue, barrier effect, INSASRAG, earthquake, EASeR project
Type of article: case study