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The Service
Specialist Response - Specialist Rescue - USAR
animal rescue
water and flood rescue
trench rescue
confined space rescue
rope rescue
chainsaw capabilities
urban search and rescue
The Government instigated the New Dimension programme soon after the September 11 attack on the USA.
It was immediatelty recognised that multiple, large scale attacks on the UK would be difficult to cope with effectively by individual Fire and Rescue Services and New Dimensions was intended to provide a range of equipment, people and procedures to allow a co-ordinated national response to catastrophic events of various types.
By providing these new skills UK Fire Services are becoming better prepared to deal with extreme situations and national support arrangements mean we will be better able to cope with the worst types of incident.
The host USAR Fire Services can use these assets along with their highly trained Technicians as a resource to assist at incidents where their skills, equipment and procedures will help reach a successful and safe conclusion. Hampshire’s USAR team forms part of the 21 strategically located throughout England to deal with three simultaneous attacks wherever they occur. The USAR team consists of 33 personnel, split into three sections, each with a search dog and handler, along with three USAR advisors. The team has five vehicles carrying five modules full of equipment to carry out the main disciplines of USAR operations.
USAR prime mover with module:
Search operation (technical, physical and canine):
Shoring (metal and timber shores):
Breaking and breeching (concrete, block timber and metal):
Lifting and moving (rollers, rails, pulley systems, tripods and heavy plant):
June 2008 - A large passenger vessel (Saga Rose) at Southampton Docks. One male removed from a confined space using airline.
August 2008 - Trench collapse in Newbury, Berkshire. One male released using trench rescue shoring.
Hampshire’s 2006 event, held annually to train and test the UKs overseas rescue team at Fort Widley, was used by the UN to assess the overall UK Fire Service Search and Rescue team as part of a new international classification system. Hampshire facilitated this process, which must include a realistic exercise encompassing all aspects of deployment and operations of a full ‘Heavy’ USAR team according to International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG) guidelines:
"INSARAG aims at establishing standards for international USAR teams and methodology for international co-ordination in earthquake response."
The event involved a week long event with a round the clock 80-hour practical exercise being observed by a UN appointed team of international assessors.
The outcome was successful with the UK team being accredited as the highest category team possible, only the second country to ever achieve this.
Hampshire’s leading position in training the UKs overseas search and rescue teams, was also utilised when USAR became a major part of the New Dimension project. We were heavily involved in advising the urgent interim provisions put in place immediately after 9/11. We turned a 2002 training trip to the US into a research mission to inform the initial development of UK USAR.
This included advising on equipment gaps, training requirements, procedures to adopt, training providers and the design of the training facilities eventually built at the Fire Service College, Moreton-in-Marsh. Our recommendations were followed almost exactly to provide the initial interim national USAR response.
We have continued to be at the forefront of the rapid development of UK USAR that has followed. The New Dimension project has frequently used Hampshire personnel as technical advisors to develop training and procedures for the project. Hampshire was one of the first four brigades to be equipped with the New Dimension USAR modules and associated training.
As part of the current and future management and development of the emerging national USAR structure a series of eleven national Working Groups have been established to carry out the immense amount of work needed to fully establish and maintain a national USAR system. Hampshire has at least one member on each of the eleven groups and currently chairs seven of them!
