HUSAR puts skills to the test in major disaster drill

After years without proper funding, Vancouver’s Heavy Urban Search and Rescue Team (HUSAR) is finally doing what it was meant to do.

A report from the auditor general that said B.C. is woefully unprepared for a disaster prompted the province to provide funding that gave emergency responders a chance to stage a large-scale disaster drill designed to simulate the aftermath of a massive earthquake and tsunami.

The team of more than 70 elite emergency responders conducted the drill in the Vancouver Island community of Port Alberni last week.

Over the four-day exercise crews were challenged by a steady stream of carefully planned and disturbingly realistic disaster scenarios.

“We want to get them as tired as we could because this is reality,” HUSAR team coordinator Kirk Heaven said. “This is good training for them because this is what we are going to do.”

During the exercise, team members used FaceTime to stay in constant contact with coordinators who could bring in reinforcements or decide when it’s time to move on.

One scenario involved people trapped under fallen debris in an old silo. As time wore on, the scenarios became increasingly complex.

Everything the responders did was monitored and then reviewed at the end of the exercise to see how they can better hone their skills.

“I think it’s really important to keep right on top of these things and invest into the team that is going to be here for you,” Asst. Chief Joe Foster said.

– With files from Linda Aylesworth