One of our Urban Search and Rescue firefighters has joined colleagues from across the UK in travelling to Malawi to help save lives following the devastating cyclone which hit the African country last week.
More than 300 people have died since Cyclone Freddy first hit Malawi on 12th March, with tens of thousands displaced from their homes.
The UKISAR team will support authorities in the search for survivors, assisted by their specialist equipment which will be gifted to Malawi for future emergency use.
They will provide emergency shelter to approximately 3,600 people and provide access to safe drinking water for thousands more.
The UKISAR team, as it was in Turkey, will be completely self-sufficient, providing its own food, water, shelter, sanitation, communications and all necessary equipment to undertake search and rescue operations for up to 14 days. This is to ensure no additional burden is placed upon a country already suffering demands on its resources following a sudden onset disaster.
Group Manager Phil Foxton said:
“As with all our Urban Search and Rescue firefighters who volunteer to be in UKISAR, Daryll is well-equipped to help in situations like this.
“We are proud to see him involved in the UK International Search and Rescue response to the devastating cyclone in Malawi.
“We are fortunate to have a team of firefighters who are ready to respond to incidents and help to save lives across the world.
“Our USAR and ISAR teams have been commended for their actions following their recent deployments to Jersey and Turkey.”
Daryll works as an on-call firefighter at Bishop’s Waltham, but during his time in Malawi he will be the Base of Operations team leader.
Last year Daryll, along with another HIWFRS colleague, joined a convoy delivering life-saving aid to rescue workers in Ukraine.
With 30 years of experience in responding to disasters across the world, the UKISAR team is on permanent standby to deploy to large-scale incidents as an official UK government team once a request for assistance has been made.
Our USAR team have recently been involved in responses to the earthquake in Turkey and the building collapse in Jersey.
