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Willie McMartin, IRC Operational Director explained the problems facing the Corps;

The decision not to mobilise is one of the hardest and most upsetting we have ever had to take. It was a very complex decision and its roots began many months or even years ago.

As we continued to remain a purely voluntary organisation, without paying professional fundraising staff, it has been difficult to keep pace with the rising costs of search and rescue work.

Our skills have also been increasingly recognised in the UK and as a result we have become more active at home which has slowly eaten into cash reserves; rarely do we receive donations for responding to these UK incidents.

We have always kept a large mission reserve fund in addition to our operating finances but we first noticed a sudden rise in mission costs when the Corps attempted to attend the earthquake in China in 2008. We reacted by increasing our fundraising efforts to build up our reserves but this was against the backdrop of a recession.

In October 2009, we immediately responded to the earthquake in Indonesia, sending a team of 10 specialists with rescue equipment. The cost was in excess of £40,000 to the Corps but donations attributable to the mission totalled only £3,500. By the time of the Haitian earthquake, we had only managed to build our funds back to £30,000.

Immediately we were alerted to the earthquake, we began to piece together the logistics for a potential mission; the movement of equipment and team in the UK during the severe weather conditions, air routes to the disaster area and the problems of onward travel from countries such as the Dominican Republic. In addition, we noted that regional search and rescue teams had already declared their intention to travel who were larger, geographically closer and able to respond quicker.

Finally, we had to consider the cost of the mission given our circumstances. The first time we have ever had to do this.

The stark reality was that our current mission fund was not enough to cover the estimated deployment costs. Meeting the shortfall from our day to day operating funds would threaten the very existence of the Corps.

Given the complex logistics and potential to arrive outside of the narrow window of opportunity to save lives, we believed that a late presence in the region would only serve to hinder the arrival and distribution of aid to Haitians in most need whilst threatening our own existence as an Urban Search and Rescue team.

Having to consider the ‘business case’ for a rescue mission is something I hope we, or any other team, never have to do again.

We sincerely wish our colleagues from the UK’s other rescue teams the very best of luck locating survivors and for a safe mission in Haiti.

BBC News - Cash fears scupper Haiti rescue mission
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IRC crews were involved in the rescue of over 50 people by boat in the town of Cockermouth as a result of severe flooding across the Cumbrian region. The multi-agency emergency response swung into action on Thursday night under the coordination of the Police, as the speed of the rising flood water caught many residents and shop owners by surprise.

Ray Gray, leading the 14 strong response team, described operating in the flood water as some of the worst conditions he had ever seen in the UK;

“The narrow streets and huge amount of flood water created extremely fast currents and boat crews operating in the flooded streets had to be alert to the added danger of debris coming towards them at speed - including cars and items like fridges”

The rescue crew remained on standby in the town through Friday night due to further heavy rain forecast for the area and was stood down at midday on Saturday.

Due to the force of the water, several of the buildings in the town were also at risk of collapsing and an offer to perform initial building assessments was accepted; a role familiar to the team faced with earthquake damage overseas.

An assessment from the air was also completed for buildings of structural concern.

Support for command centre

At the incident command centre in Cockermouth Fire Station, IRC provided logistics support for 48 hours to the multi-agency command team which co-ordinated the rescue effort.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown visited the town on Saturday morning. Talking to the IRC team at the command centre, he thanked them for their dedication and said it showed great teamwork to see a team more used to international rescue work working side by side the emergency services in a time of crisis.

Team Leader’s report
Flood Rescue in Pictures

IRC will exhibit again at this years show where visitors will be able to learn more about Urban Search and Rescue, the work of our team and our Open College programme. We’ll be sharing stories and videos from previous missions in the UK and around the world.

Find us in the Emergency Response Zone on stand E6.

About the Show

The aim of the Emergency Services Show is to promote multi-agency collaboration between emergency and support organisations in the UK, ultimately to improve public safety.

A free exhibition, which is open to the public, features the Blue Light Zone showcasing the work of the UK’s Police, Fire and Ambulance services. The Emergency Response Zone is home to responders from specialist rescue and support organisations and the Supplier Zone has over 300 suppliers where you can find the latest in rescue and safety technology.

Learn more and register here (ESS website)     Mission Video Reports