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February 05One month into the new year and IRC is busy training its members. The world’s climate is continually throwing out challenges and already in February there have been floods in Ghana and Pakistan. A man made disaster almost called for IRC’s help after a crane collapsed onto a school building. Fortunately the building was empty but unfortunately it claimed the lives of 2 workers – our thoughts go out to the families. Exciting things are coming along in March as we unfold our new ambulance and have commandeered a couple of celebrities to help ‘cut the ribbon’. More in the next edition. In this edition:- • IRC in the search for missing Hull woman IRC in the search for missing Hull woman14 members of the International Rescue Corps were drafted in to the search for the missing Hull women Joanne Nelson. Joanne went missing on Valentines Day. IRC, as search and rescue specialists, put in an offer of assistance to Humberside Police on the following Wednesday and were given a few areas to search where Joanne may have been on Friday afternoon and all day Saturday. More to follow in the next edition. IRC and the Open CollegeA number of years ago several protestors had buried themselves in tunnels where the building of the proposed Manchester runway was to take place and the local police were worried that once they tried to extract them the tunnels would collapse. IRC were asked to help rescue anyone trapped should the need arise. The Health and Safety Executive asked to look at our qualifications and at that time IRC could only explain the intense training programme but had no paperwork to back it up. Therefore IRC took the unprecedented step to change its training regime and approached the Open College Network. The East Riding College at Beverly offered to sit down and look at how a qualification could be achieved. This was the birth of the UK’s first true qualification in Urban Search and Rescue. Today all members wishing to become operational must now undertake the OCN course which takes 3 years. This modular based training requires real commitment and each member is rigorously assessed through all its stages both internally and externally. Even once qualified, operational members are required to keep their training up to date with changes in technology and structures. Training is thorough and covers a wide range of topics associated with search and rescue activities at home and abroad. These include: o Basic survival in the field o Campcraft It is important to note that IRC have the only nationally recognised accredited training package in the country of which we are very proud. Further information can be found on elsewhere on our website. IRC’s first married overseas operational coupleIn the history of IRC we have seen lots of couples come and go but until recently never had a married overseas operational couple! This changed last summer when 2 members were married and it wasn’t long before they were both side by side in action. Helen, aged 39, joined the corps back in early 1995, qualified in 1996 and
went on her first overseas mission in 1998 to Nicaragua – looking for people
trapped in the horrendous floods that had hit the nation. She says she enjoys
the camaraderie and sees that she has been given the chance to use her skills to
help others in trouble. She said; “I see the work in IRC as rewarding and I know
that if my family were in trouble I would want someone to help them. It is also
very varied – you never know what you are to come across next. Some might find
that un-nerving but I like that side of it. I also feel that people nowadays
can't see the need to do something for nothing i.e money but I think the reason
the Corps works is that we are all doing it for the right reasons - just wanting
to help. Those that stick with Surprisingly both met at work and Dave finally popped the question whilst on holiday in Cuba. When asked what made him join the corps, Dave said; “I had a desire to contribute to something worthwhile” “I think it’s fantastic that Helen is in the corps, she contributes an enormous amount and we are able to look out for each other. “The corps has other blossoming romances coming along but don’t see ourselves as a regular dating agency!! Don’t forget “Still for Sale”T-shirts = £8 Anyone interested in buying any of these please contact Julie Ryan –
press@intrescue.org. Don’t forget our new promotional video and new brochure A new 12 minute promotional video is now available to promote the work and ongoing dedication of IRC. Members are able to use this for talks and lectures. A new brochure has been printed also. This can be downloaded on the ‘download’ section of this web site. Anyone wishing a hard copy of the brochure or a copy of the video (available
in CDROM, DVD and VHS formats) please contact Julie Ryan –
press@intrescue.org In the next edition• IRC and its new ambulance If anyone has any more news please feel free to send me your article for the next edition! Julie Ryan – National Press Officer |
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