Three Scottish firefighters have returned from their deployment in Venezuela, where they spent ten days helping communities impacted by two devastating earthquakes.
More than 3,500 people have died after a pair of earthquakes struck the country last month, nearly 16,740 people were injured, and 17,854 have been left without housing.
Scottish Fire and Rescue Service’s crew commander Ian Hodgson, firefighter Brian Richards and station commander Gavin Brown travelled to the country as part of the UK International Search and Rescue (UK ISAR), which responds to overseas urban search and rescue emergencies on behalf of the UK.
SFRSThe team provided specialist technical expertise where it was needed most during search and rescue operations.
For Brian and Ian, the deployment marked their first as part of UK ISAR. Station Commander Gavin was previously part of the team deployed to Morocco following an earthquake in 2023.
“The further on you got, it was just devastation”, Brian told STV News.
“It was so much like a complete city in mid-demolition. It was pancaked buildings, lean-to buildings.
“Looking at it from where we were, the chances of saveable life looks quite minimal.
“The searches that we had, we weren’t as fortunate to find that saveable life.
SFRS“The humanity there was just incredible. They had nothing left, and yet they would give you their bottle of water for you to come and help.
“If they saw you in a search and rescue team, they just welcomed you in open arms and just wanted you to stay there as long as possible to give them some hope.”
Ian added: “I remember being on a massive intersection with hundreds of cars nearby, driving past and a lot of people on other rubble piles using pneumatic equipment, loud equipment, but as soon as the international sign went up, you just raise your hand, everyone stopped what they were doing
“Engines got switched off, people stopped working just to allow me that 30 seconds to listen, and I just found it amazing.”
UK ISAR teams are fully self-sufficient on deployment, bringing their own food, water, shelter, sanitation, communications and all necessary equipment, enabling them to operate independently for up to 14 days.
Getty ImagesDuring their time in Venezuela, the team worked alongside international search and rescue teams from countries including Chile, the United States, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Turkey, Qatar and Ecuador as part of a coordinated multinational response.
Gavin Brown added: “When you’re dealing with collapsed buildings and seeing people’s possessions, especially children’s toys and things like that, you know, it does hit a bit closer to home.
“It’s not a normal situation that we’ve been exposed to.”
Follow STV News on WhatsApp
Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
