Today, despite a better understanding of the critical role of preparedness in community and organizational resilience, there remain many gaps in both our knowledge and practice.
For Kirschenbaum Consulting (Kc), a company with over 30 years’ experience in applied scientific research in the area of human factors, it is clear that at the end of the day it is the ability of people to fend for themselves until rescue services arrive that increases chances for survivability and minimizing injuries. To be prepared requires making critical decisions that are affected by accessible and practical knowledge.
Evidence teaches us that Time is critical in any rescue effort.
Although Authorities have resources and search & rescue teams available, they cannot deal effectively
with a large scale disaster.
Arrival of the search & rescue forces is a complex operation and requires time – the actual fact is that the vast majority
of survivors are extracted by the local population with the most basic tools.
Actions that are performed immediately after a large scale disaster increase the chances of saving lives, reducing casualties and directing aid to critical infrastructure.
A Possible Solution:
The local population is available, has immediate knowledge of what occurred, where it occurred, who it affected… combining this knowledge with basic knowledge of search & rescue creates a powerful multiplier.
This approach is not a theory – it is a proven fact – search and rescue is an integral part of all disaster management around the globe; be they natural disasters such as earthquakes, tsunami, hurricane, cyclone, floods and events such
as mega terror attack, accidents in large industrial facilities, war zones etc.