Preparing for Emergencies

Major Sivan has served as the head of the Urban Search and Rescue Section for the last two and a half years. During that time she has built teams of search and rescue professionals that lead training sessions in collaboration with the Emergency Volunteer Project (EVP).

“The training consists of three parts. First, we lead the search and rescue part, next the  firefighters lead the fire extinguishing part, and then the doctors lead the medical training,” said Maj. Sivan.

“The EVP finds people through the Jewish Federations and brings a lot of people to volunteer to come and undergo the training. We equip them, and during an emergency in Israel when we need international assistance...we will actually bring them to Israel and they will help here with anything that Israel needs…,” she explained.

The EVP’s training allows for international cooperation and can be crucial in times of emergency.“[The training program] was born from a very friendly place... I can tell you that I work closely with the firefighters and that’s how I got to know EVP. I understood what the organization does and started working with them.” Maj. Sivan continued.

Maj. Sivan’s training sessions focus on rescue skills and techniques. “The rescue is the central part because in the end, even the medical personnel there know how to treat the victims, if they don’t know how to get them out from under the rubble, then they can’t treat them.”

Maj. Sivan says that the mistake that most people make when arriving at a disaster site is lifting debris without thinking about potential dangers or if the structure will stay stable once they move the debris. “If toxins build up in the body as a result of [being trapped under] the concrete, which is called ‘Crush Syndrome,’ and we just lift the plates and take the person out, the toxins and injuries can kill them within 20 minutes. That is why we combine medical and some engineering.”

So, what does Major Sivan recommend you do in an emergency situation? “The first thing you need in a disaster situation is head protection, but that doesn't mean that you need professional equipment. You can even use your bike helmet. Next, you have to estimate how risky the site is and calculate exactly how you have to move the debris in order to not injure those trapped. You have to make sure that you know the layout of the field so that the search and rescue workers won’t get hurt while saving others. Then you need to know how many people were there as well as what the original structure of the building was like in order to estimate where those trapped could have been at the time of the disaster and that’s where you start searching there. Also, you can never leave someone who is trapped, even if you find more than one person at once. In that situation you should call for someone else to come help. Finally, working with other organizations to save lives is key.”

Thanks to Maj. Sivan’s expertise her soldiers and EVP participants are well prepared for emergency situations and if the time comes, they have a partner willing and able to help.