Mother Teresa

On the flight back from Yerevan to Moscow, and later to Amsterdam, we use a normally scheduled Aeroflot flight. Our dogs sit in the passenger cabin with us, guests of honor in their own right, and a chair is reserved for them even when they lie on the ground. Mother Teresa sits beside us and she is full of admiration for our dogs. When I pass her, she takes my hand and thanks us for our good work. I get a lump in my throat when I talk with her. She, who is doing so much good for the poorest people on earth, is thanking us? She doesn’t want to know anything of thanks for her own work. We have, with our dogs, offered unpaid help to the victims of the earthquake and for that she thanks us once again. We all become very quiet at that. And perhaps now we realize what we have done.

10

Disaster Deployment Tactics

Working in rubble areas is, of course, dangerous. Every search and rescue dog handler has to take precautions for himself or herself, for the dog, and for others. Wearing a highly visible jumpsuit, working shoes with steel toes, heavy work gloves, a security helmet, and a dust mask is required on and near rubble areas during deployment and training.

Dangers and Security

Before a rubble area is approached, all risks must first be carefully assessed. The wind speed and direction and the direct or indirect danger of collapsing floors, walls, and loose rubble parts are important in these assessments, as are the strength of the floors and beams, the damages in staircases, loose hanging building materials, and so on. A search and rescue dog handler should know the functions of different sorts of walls, such as fire walls, supporting walls, dividing walls, and other important building constructions.

Handlers should be alert for any situations that might endanger them or their dogs. In earthquake areas, aftershocks may follow the initial tremor, and in the rubble piles left by explosions, there can be other explosions. Handlers should be aware of any escape routes and hiding places inside as well as outside buildings. Furthermore, gas and electricity must be switched off before the handler and dog enter a damaged building. Handlers should also be aware of the danger of radioactive materials and should find out if there are chemicals, such as oil or acid (battery acid) in the rubble or basements.

Figure 10.1 It is vital to know the nature of the mission beforehand. (Leninakan, Armenia, 1988)

Signs of a Collapse

Assessing the chance of a building collapse is not simple, but search and rescue dog handlers will often have to evaluate the risks on their own. To make such assessments, operational search and rescue dog handlers require both theoretical knowledge and practical experience gained by training in demolition sites and condemned buildings. Some signs that indicate an impending collapse include the following:

Measurable: To check whether walls are shifting, place a piece of glass supported by plaster in a corner of a building between two walls. If the glass breaks, you’ll know the walls are shifting. There are, of course, also instruments to measure and warn for this shifting of walls.

Figure 10.2 A thin glass plate and plaster in the corner will demonstrate clearly whether walls are shifting.

Figure 10.3 Glass plates.

Figure 10.4 This corner crack monitor can be fixed to the surface with screws or adhesive.

Audible: Before a collapse you can usually hear rustling or rumbling. You can also observe your dog, which will usually show that it has heard the sounds by tilting its head to one side.

Visible: Doors and windows that can’t be closed anymore indicate that walls are shifting and sagging.

Imperceptible: Some buildings or rooms give experienced handlers a bad feeling as they go in. Listen to your instincts. Sometimes an experienced search and rescue dog will absolutely refuse to enter a building or room. In almost all cases, the dog is right!