In an Australian-first, a team of Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) firefighters are leading an international emergency response by following the magnitude-6.4 earthquake strikes which devastated buildings and communities in the border region between Türkiye (Turkey) and Syria.
Commenting on the operation, FRNSW said four of its highly-experienced firefighters had been chosen to take charge of all 140 international Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) crews in the Republic of Türkiye.
It said the firefighters had taken control of the USAR Coordination Cell, which provides a single point of contact for coordination through the United Nations process to Türkish emergency management officials.
“Their responsibilities now include assigning tasks to all international USAR teams, prioritising worksites, following up reports from disaster zones, and relaying information to Local Emergency Management Arrangements,” FRNSW said.
“The team is among 52 FRNSW firefighters deployed under the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s Disaster Assistant Response Team,” it said.
“The operations on the ground in Türkiye are being backed up by FRNSW’s Strategic Operations Centre (SOC) in Alexandria, Sydney, which continues to provide high-level advice and support.”
FRNSW said the SOC was helping personnel with welfare needs and maintaining regular communications with their families back home.
Also on the ground was a NSW Ambulance Special Operations Team of rescue paramedics and Aeromedical Specialist Doctors.
Inspector from NSW Ambulance, Steve Green said the NSW Ambulance contingent were sleeping in tents and eating from ration packs while supporting those in need.
“There’s going to be a lot going on, and quite of lot of damage and devastation,” Inspector Green said.
“In this environment, our primary goal is to locate trapped individuals and then swing into treating those patients.”
He said a dedicated NSW Ambulance staff support team was providing welfare support to family members of paramedics and doctors while they were in Türkiye.
