Officials assembling urban rescue team
By Scott Ishikawa
Advertiser Staff Writer
Hawai'i officials are continuing efforts to form an urban search-and-rescue team here, a project that may attract more attention following the terrorist attacks on the East Coast last month.
State Civil Defense official Clement Jung, a key coordinator for the effort, said officials would like to have some components of the team in operation by the end of 2002.
Jung said a team made up of firefighters, engineers, and doctors, along with proper equipment, could respond to major emergencies such as building or stadium collapses and natural disasters.
Some of the organizations and agencies forming the response team are the civil defense agencies on the state level and all four counties, state and county-level fire and police departments, and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Hawai'i Civil Defense vice director Ed Teixeira heads the committee.
The group would be similar to the 28 Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) urban search-and-rescue teams based around the nation, but would not be paid for by FEMA.
There are nine FEMA teams based on the West Coast, Jung said. It would take 12 to 24 hours for one of those teams to reach Hawai'i following a disaster.
"Experts say the best chance of finding survivors is in the initial 18 hours," he said. "Since we're in the middle of the Pacific, we have to be self-sustaining for a period of time until more help arrives."
Because of money constraints, Jung said the objective is to create a team from components already available in the Islands to respond to local disasters.
For example, two structural engineers trained in rescue operations are based on Maui and Kaua'i, he said. Search dogs on Kaua'i used to locate missing hikers could also be trained for urban search and rescue.
"Having some of the personnel in place would help us in keeping costs down, since equipping and training such a team will be expensive."
Honolulu Fire Chief Attilio Leonardi said the formation of the team had been in the works long before Sept. 11.
"We've already had about eight or nine meetings on it," Leonardi said. "Other members of the team would include hazardous-material specialists."
The various fire departments that make up the State Fire Council have looked at Kalaeloa as a possible training site for the search-and-rescue team.
"We're looking at a National Guard facility at Kalaeloa for a combined fire and rescue training center with the Guard and ship boarding firefighting school," Leonardi said.
Components of the team were originally scheduled to be trained by FEMA California officials last month, but that training was postponed when FEMA teams were deployed to New York to search for World Trade Center survivors.
Jung said the training, which has been rescheduled for the first quarter of next year, would instruct rescuers about best way to clear wreckage and reach survivors from a collapsed large structure without jeopardizing themselves or the victims.
One hurdle in forming the unit is acquiring money for equipment. Jung said rescue equipment for a FEMA-type team costs a minimum of $2 million, not including annual maintenance or training.
"There is limited federal funding, and the possibility of a grant to the fire departments," Jung said. "We're hoping that with the formation of the federal Office of Homeland Security, we may get some assistance there."
The other hurdle is finding team members willing to drop their everyday activities at a moment's notice to respond to a disaster.
"We would need major commitment from these folks because they would go through extensive and expensive training," he said.
Reach Scott Ishikawa at sishikawa@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8070.
