Saving saveable lives by improving post-crash response
Post-crash response is an essential Pillar within the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011 -2020. However, many low and middle-income countries still lack capacity for road rescue and, as a result, many people are dying at the side of the road every day.
In March 2018, supported by the UK government’s Conflict Stability and Security Fund (CSSF), EASST and our FIREAID partners Operation Florian donated two further fire appliances and associated equipment to the Fire Safety Unit of Tiraspol following a 1700 mile snowy journey from the UK.
Along with the two fully equipped fire-fighting vehicles, the delighted firefighters received a full complement of road crash rescue equipment and personal protective equipment. This adds to donations already received in May and December 2017.
The deliveries (donated by East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service and South Wales Fire and Rescue Service) were accompanied by an intensive training programme led by volunteers from Operation Florian. There was a particular focus on improving emergency response to road traffic collisions using the three newly donated road crash rescue kits. The firefighters were also trained on causality care, pumps and ladders, and driver familiarisation.
The main goal of the donations and training, supported by the British Embassy Chisinau, is to strengthen emergency response to save lives and property, as well as providing better protection to emergency personnel in Tiraspol – where resources for response were previously limited.
The training concluded with a demonstration on fire response and how the Tiraspol crews would respond to a road traffic collision using the newly donated equipment, attended by guests including the deputy UK Ambassador to Moldova and Ben Luckock, the Regional Eastern Partnership Portfolio Manager for CSSF.
As well as saving lives, the project is also a great example of cooperation between all the involved partners, including the General Inspectorate of Emergency Situations (GIES) of the Republic of Moldova, the Bureau for Reintegration, Protect MD Foundation, as well as the responsible bodies from Tiraspol who all provided support in facilitating these activities, which are already having a huge effect.
For example, data provided by the Tiraspol Fire Safety Unit in March shows that since the project began in May 2017, the first donated fire appliance has responded to 80 incidents, including 6 vehicle related incidents in which the road crash rescue equipment was utilised. And, with three appliances now in use, we hope to see many more lives saved in the future!
