Mobile Morgues - Yes, Technique and Heavy Gear for Interventions in Case of Casualty - No!
On Tuesday morning, November 1st 2016, the Ministry of the Interior started an emergency drill involving the emergency situations structures in Bucharest and Iași county. The power display was exceptional, 6.000 people and more than 600 technical aids being deployed for the simulation program.
The Romanian firefighter - an eternal example of devotion and sacrifice
Beyond the intense media covered scenario, beyond the strong and weak points, beyond the dissatisfaction of the Ministry structures, this particular drill shows once more that the firefighters remain the same courageous, devoted people disciplined soldiers always ready to sacrifice themselves for their kind. NO ONE can deny the overall mobilization of the military firefighters from all over the country.
Whether it was the plane crash in the Apuseni mountains, at Siutghiol or at Colectiv, or just a ploy, the Romanian firefighter, the foundation of this system directed towards rescuing lives, has always been on the job. Beyond the scarce communication between state institutions, beyond the non-communicating broadcasting stations, beyond the positive and negative aspects, one must keep in mind one thing: for this drill were deployed hundreds of firefighters from all over the country who, in order to come to the rescue of potential victims of an earthquake, had left their families being able to say goodbye only on the phone, just to be on the job.
OMAI 360 anticipates, as of 2004, the equipping of the firefighters with technique and heavy gear
Since we are tackling the earthquake subject and we are on the verge of the amplest drill of mobilization and response to casualties over the last 25 years, there is a legislative stipulation in Decree no. 360/September 14th 2004 regarding the management and the equipping of the emergency situations professional services, who, by article 11 of the annex stipulates: “In case of intervention, at the Inspectorates for Emergency Situations from Bucharest, Bacău, Cluj and Dolj, should be formed subunits of intervention equipped with technique and heavy gear, assigned with a variable amount of counties, depending on the response time.”. This meaning special subunits equipped with excavators, bulldozers, cranes, hammer drills etc.
From what we know, there is no such subunit in Romania. As regards the equipment, there are heavy extrication machineries. We should keep in mind that such a machinery is still used mainly in car crashes even though some of the equipment can be used in case of earthquakes.
A scenario involving crashed buildings following an earthquake would need heavy hammer drills in order to break the concrete, cranes etc. In Romania, the firefighters have only a single crane of 60 tones. Others should most probably be purchased in the near future. Although the afore mentioned Decree was issued in 2004, up to now, no one has bothered themselves to apply its regulations. Twelve years have already passed. Instead, the firefighters have been equipped with mobile morgues ?!? A macabre subject of whose importance we were insistently made aware. Still. The transportation and deposit of the corpses is not the job of the firefighters. So, why, instead of purchasing the heavy gear required by a Decree and of much more use in case of earthquakes, should one purchase mobile morgues ?
