Exercise keeps DART at the forefront of international disaster response

• Queensland’s Disaster Assistance Response Team, AUS-1 DART, will be put through its paces in Brisbane this week, ensuring it remains well-prepared to deploy to a range of natural disasters both domestically and abroad.
• The team of 75 specialist personnel are completing a five-day training exercise simulating real disaster events, including an earthquake and search and rescue response.
• The training will take place at the Queensland Combined Emergency Services Academy at Lytton, and State Deployment Centre at Morningside from July 22 to 26.

Queensland Fire Department’s highly qualified AUS-1 DART personnel are putting their skills to the test during a rigorous five-day training exercise in Brisbane to further prepare them for overseas deployments in times of crisis.

The specialist team, made up of firefighters, paramedics, engineers, doctors, canine handlers, and their dogs, will face disaster simulations including an earthquake where they’ll be tasked with locating and removing survivors from the rubble.

The exercise will test vital skills, from concrete and metal cutting to debris removal, used to rescue people from the scene of a disaster.

DART personnel train year-round to ensure their skills are up to scratch to respond to disasters, both nationally and internationally, such as the devastating landslide in Papua New Guinea’s Enga Province earlier this year.

These highly transferrable skills are also critical during disasters on home soil, with DART often deployed to cyclones and floods for their technical rescue and damage assessment capabilities.

Quotes attributable to Fire and Disaster Recovery Minister Nikki Boyd:

“Training exercises such as this are vital to refresh our search and rescue skills in preparation to respond to a range of disasters domestically, in the Asia Pacific region and further abroad.

“This team is among the best in the world when it comes to responding to emergencies and I’m proud Queensland continues to be at the forefront of international disaster response.

“Australia has strong ties with the Asia-Pacific and AUS-1 DART is equipped to lend support when needed, as they’ve done most recently in Papua New Guinea, New Zealand and Turkiye following devastating natural disasters.

“This exercise will further expand Queensland’s capability to provide international relief, at the same time building on important skills that can be used across the state and nationally.”

Quotes attributable to Queensland Fire Department (QFD) Commissioner Steve Smith:

“Queensland’s Disaster Assistance Response Team is recognised as a leader in the industry and we’re extremely proud of their commitment to providing vital emergency response worldwide.

“Whether it’s at home or abroad, they are ready to answer the call during times of crisis and are experts in rescuing people from building collapses, earthquakes, cyclones, or floods.

“This annual training exercise is all about refreshing their skills in the most realistic setting possible, to make sure our teams are well prepared to face adversities on the ground.”

ENDS

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