SIMULEX19 – a multi-national 24-hour rescue simulation – is taking place in Malta next weekend with volunteers from the Emergency Fire and Rescue Unit (EFRU) taking part

This rescue simulation is one of the activities of a project funded by the Malta Community Chest Fund Foundation (MCCFF), focusing on volunteer rescue team preparedness in emergency response.

There will be around 70 volunteer rescuers from Malta, Italy, Portugal, UK, Greece, Cyprus, Hungary and France, meeting in Malta and simulating the rescue of casualties from multiple earthquake scenarios, utilising specialised techniques in Urban Search and Rescue and rope rescue.

The EFRU said that the rescue teams will be making use of rapid deployment tents for incident command. “These can double up as a medical triage area and sleeping and mess quarters, increasing the efficiency of local response teams in case of emergencies,” it said.

The Unit went on to say that although there will be many different languages involved, the volunteer rescuers will work together, combining their efforts in effective teamwork to refine their skills to be able to assist whenever and wherever they are needed.

This is one of the main objectives of EVOLSAR – the European Association of Civil Protection Volunteer Teams – of which EFRU is a founder member.

The Association said that it aims to have a European group of volunteer teams that train together in various civil protection disciplines, thus being able to deploy as a group to assist fellow members of the organisation in the event of a major disaster as necessary.

The Association is currently made up of fifteen member teams from ten different countries. SIMULEX19 will take place on the 9th and 10th of February.

Follow the EFRU’s Facebook page for live updates during the exercise.

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