For Vancouver’s Heavy Urban Search and Rescue Team, Hurricane Katrina was an eye-opening experience: it was their first international deployment and they were one of the first Canadian teams on the ground.
“I didn’t expect to see such destruction in a major U.S. metropolis,” said Bob Kursar, one of the HUSAR rescue technicians who deployed at the time.
However, despite having extensive disaster training, Vancouver’s HUSAR team has rarely been deployed: a total of three times since Hurricane Katrina. They worry because they aren’t being sent out to major natural disasters–such as the tsunami in Japan or the recent earthquake in Nepal–they’re missing out on opportunities to help and gain more experience.
WATCH: HUSAR was not sent to Nepal
“I just worry that if we aren’t going to be deploying internationally or to any of these events, we’re forgoing an opportunity to learn,” said Tim Lehman, another HUSAR team member.
Joe Foster, the team’s manager, believes cost and red tape are getting in the way.
“At the end of the day it comes down to who’s willing to pay the bill,” said Foster.
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In 2012, the same year the team deployed to Johnson’s Landing for a mudslide, the federal government announced funding for Canada’s four HUSAR teams would be cut–leaving the provinces and the cities to cover their cost. Since then, the provincial government has given HUSAR $800,000. This year, the city of Vancouver allocated $292,000. However, in an email to Global News, a spokesperson with the city of Vancouver said “the decision to deploy Heavy Urban Search and Rescue internationally belongs to the federal government.
In recent months, Foster says the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs has been lobbying the Liberals, New Democrats and Conservatives, pushing for $1.6M and a commitment to funding HUSAR teams across Canada. He says that funding and commitment are imperative.
“Without an increase in funding coming in, the team’s capability will diminish over time,” said Foster.
He and his team say they will continue to train–weekly–to ensure they are ready when the time comes. Next year, the team will be taking part in the province’s first full scale exercise in earthquake and emergency preparedness, with the province committing $1M for the endeavor. Kirk Heaven, HUSAR Vancouver’s task force leader, says the experience will be invaluable.
“You can practice, practice, practice. You can do tabletops forever. Until it actually happens, it’s not the same.”
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