Recently, members of the Wales Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) Team, Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service (MAWWFRS) Drone Team, Gorseinon Fire Station and Loughor Inshore Lifeboat took part in a joint training exercise on the Loughor Estuary.
The training session allowed members from all organisations to learn about each other skills and capabilities when a search for a missing person along the Loughor estuary and surrounding areas. The drone team spoke about the capabilities of each drone that MAWWFRS operate, appropriate deconfliction plans with other air assets, the different types of search patterns and the images and information a drone can provide to an Incident Commander, allowing them to make appropriate tactical decisions on scene and remotely by streaming the images back to a Command cell or Police Search Adviser working remotely.
The Loughor Inshore Lifeboat crew spoke about their capabilities and the various operational assets and skills they can provide on and off the water and how MAWWFRS crews can mobilise them to scene to assist during an emergency situation.
The tabletop and practical scenarios simulated during the training session included a casualty stuck in mud in the estuary, where the speaker and lighting functions of drones were tested to demonstrate how they can assist and enhance the safety of crew members during an emergency situation. Drones can improve the visibility during an incident and can communicate with a casualty to assess them by using the speaker capability and monitor the welfare of the rescue teams during the rescue.
There was also the opportunity to discuss how the Wales USAR search dog “Cooper” can be utilised and requested in a missing person search, as the dog is trained to detect human scent in diverse environments and can search areas where it would be too difficult for search teams to clear.
