Summary of the evaluations and recommendations for further development.
Training and Standard Operating Procedures
There are many experienced rescue divers in the Danube Region, and this knowledge should be shared with all the rescue community in the region through common training and exercising.
There are many different schools of rescue diving, but there is still no internationally agreed minimum standard for rescue diving, that would allow the different rescue teams to acknowledged and trust their diver counterparts from the other nations, teams. We recommend that the participating organizations or the DG ECHO should initiate an EU wide discussion on the requirements for the rescue divers to develop a common system at least for the minimum standards.
Also, there is clearly a need for training water rescue skills in the region, as floods are the main risk, and currently there are not enough trainers available in all countries, or the knowledge is not available in their native language.
The teams have different level of knowledge and skills, the exercise tasks should be adjustable to accommodate both highly skilled and no so skilled teams, to provide a good learning opportunity for everyone.
The participating volunteer should also pay attention to victim tracing as it is necessary in real life situations to be able to follow and review the treatment the victims have received at the different stages of the rescue operation.
The participants have informed us, that there is a need to learn from the other experts, which can be achieved through visiting their home bases, attending their training sessions. This could be facilitated by supporting the exchange of experts or providing training opportunities for the volunteer rescuers in the Danube Region.
We have observed and discussed with the team leaders, that there are many different situations during a flood scenario, and one could not prepare an SOP that is good for every situation, but there is a need for a commonly usable SOP that covers the basics for all the regional rescue teams. Many volunteer teams do not have the knowledge, nor the capacity to develop these SOPs on their own, so there is a need to support them and help them to develop their SOPs.
Volunteers need exercises similar to the PROFOUND exercise on a regular basis, otherwise they will not have the chance to get prepared to take part in cross-border rescue operations. Training their coordination skills is very useful for both local and international deployment. These exercises also provide an opportunity to share ideas with and learn from teams that are from other countries.
Communication
Teams must be prepared to communicate with their home base and with their members in times of a disaster, but the necessary equipment could not be purchased and installed in the last minute. Some teams lack the expertise in this field and need support from the regional partners.
It is vital for the timely response to designate clearly the different locations where the teams should go, and to make sure every participant knows who is in charge, what is the line of communications, when and where will be coordination meetings held. These things should be discussed at the initial meeting with the local authorities to avoid misunderstandings during the intervention.
As there are many different languages spoken in the Danube Region, during a cross-border intervention, the foreign teams need support from the locals to be able to break the language barrier. The local Host Nation Support SOPs should have an element to provide interpreters (preferably with knowledge of the area, and the special vocabulary that is needed) to guide and help the teams during their time in the country.
Safety and Security
Teams and participants should pay attention to the safety and security of their members, the protocols they use could be different from team to team, but they must be aware all the time about the risks and hazards they are facing, and should be in contact with the on-site safety and security officer to make sure they are executing their tasks in a safe manner.
The participating teams should prepare for any mission and exercise with the proper personal protecting equipment (PPE) as these tools are usually made for personal use, and it is hard to rent or borrow this kind of equipment at the place of the deployment.
The exercise scenario was very realistic, and provided a great opportunity for all the participants, to work in an international environment in the Danube Region. The participating teams could practice their standard operating procedures and share their experiences and knowledge with the other participating volunteers. After the exercise, a few good practices were identified along with good learning opportunities for future exercises. The participating organizations managed to build new connections through the networking possibilities that this exercise have provided them, which could lead to future cooperation in training, development and exercise projects in the region.
Exercise Control
The exercise scenario was very realistic, and provided a great opportunity for all the participants, to work in an international environment in the Danube Region. The participating teams could practice their standard operating procedures and share their experiences and knowledge with the other participating volunteers. After the exercise, a few good practices were identified along with good learning opportunities for future exercises. The participating organizations managed to build new connections through the networking possibilities that this exercise have provided them, which could lead to future cooperation in training, development and exercise projects in the region.
The main fields of future cooperation could be:
- Development of standard operating procedures for deployment withing the Danube Region;
- Training for rescue divers, and water rescue with boats;
- There is a need for joining exercises withing the region;
- Development of a common communication platform;
- Establishment of training with experts;
- Capacity building;
- Increasing the awareness about safety and security.
