Phase 5: Salvage and Search Again

When certain about the location of a victim, rescuers can start digging. Locating and rescuing survivors is, of course, the number one priority. As much as possible, rescue workers should be brought in for the salvage of survivors to reduce time. Before any action is taken, you should first try to determine the best way to reach the victim. Rescue operations for different types of damage are given in the next chapter. Depending on the situation, consider the following options:

• Clear loose rubble to approach the victim from above.

• Clear an entrance through adjoining buildings or rooms by breaking through a wall.

• Clear a passage to the victim through the rubble (shafts, trenches, horizontal tunnels, etc.). Sometimes entering from the side can be better in order not to stand on the victim.

Any cleared rubble must be removed to a remote area where it can’t obstruct or endanger workers on the disaster site. Search and rescue dogs should first search the place where the rubble will be dumped.

Figure 10.29 Phase 5 is about recovering victims.

Dangers and Safety Signaling

One must always remember that a rubble pile can slide away. That’s why unstable rubble and construction materials have to be propped; hollow spaces can be used to penetrate deeper into the rubble pile. Unnecessary moving of rubble has to be avoided because dust, mortar, beams, or concrete blocks can come down. Such falling debris can suffocate buried people.

Helpers that go into a pile of rubble can be secured to a line attached to their chest belt and secured outside. Rescue work is physically demanding, so rescuers should rest regularly.

Effective emergency signaling is essential for safe operation at a disaster site. All team members working on collapsed structures should be briefed regarding emergency signals. All rescuers are required to immediately respond to all emergency signals. These signals must be clear and concise, so air horns or other hailing devices should be used to sound the appropriate signals, as follows:

• Evacuate: three short signals (one second each), repeated until the site is cleared

• Cease Operations/Quiet: one long signal (three seconds)

• Resume Operations: one long signal (three seconds) plus one short signal (one second)

In the case where there is no contact with a victim after a double-checked alert, the search and rescue dog should stay in the vicinity to show the direction where the victim is lying. Always take the wind direction into account and make use of the dog’s ability to follow the scent cone to the victim.

Figure 10.30 Always try to get medical assistance on the site as soon as possible. (Bam, Iran, 2003).

Life-Saving Treatments

If a living person is found, then the head and chest have to be freed as soon as possible, and dirt in and around the respiratory tracts has to be cleaned out. If the heart and breathing have stopped, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) should take place immediately on location. Don’t wait to first dig the victim out entirely, but directly start CPR. Wounded people have to be immediately taken care of with life-saving treatments.

As soon as the body is dug out, do everything necessary to safely transport the victim from the rubble. After that the victim is taken to the hospital or field hospital. Always keep in mind that one of the biggest hazards is combined shock and hypothermia. Many people die if these two conditions occur together. Therefore, treat victims immediately with inside and outside warmth (warm drinks, blankets, etc.)—without making them too hot—rest, and all the reassurance you can. Get medical assistance on the rubble as soon as possible.

Once contact with buried survivors has been made, it should not be broken off until the victims have been brought to safety. Wounded people may not be able to give a loud call. Rescuers should then try to get knocking signals from the victim as an answer, which is important in determining the proportion and speed of the rescue work. For instance: “How many people are with you—knock once for each.”

The urge for self-preservation and the will of a victim to survive are responsible for a so-called emergency-adaptation reaction. The human body is oriented, with all its reserves, toward surviving. This extreme stress can last until the victim is rescued, at which time the victim may die, the so-called salvage death, due to overwhelming relief. The happiness of being saved can quickly deplete the body’s will to survive. That’s why you should never tell a victim during or after the salvage that he or she is safe now. The victim still has to work for survival and rescuers have to keep telling this to the victim until he or she is under full medical control.