B-Fast to participate in NATO exercises in Moldavia
A B-Fast team (Belgian First Aid and Support Team) with 53 people from the Fire Brigade, Civil Defence, the Department of Defence and the Department of Health will be participating in an exercise in Moldavia organised by EADRCC (Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Centre), NATO's (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) instrument for civil crisis management, from 29 August to 2 September 2011. They are going to practice providing emergency aid after a simulated earthquake, together with 26 other international teams. B-Fast runs large-scale exercises at least once a year and international exercises every two years.
NATO is organising the exercise in order to test and improve the international coordination of emergency aid from 27 teams originating from as many countries so that things move even more smoothly during actual incidents. As in actual emergency situations abroad, the participants must prove during the exercise that they:
• can be ready to leave within a short amount of time;
• can efficiently organise and coordinate the aid provision operations;
• understand the procedures and techniques to be used;
• can work well together with their foreign colleague aid workers;
• have the necessary skills to, for example, track and save victims as quickly as possible.
B-FAST is a collaboration between the Services of the Prime Minister, the Federal Public Services Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade & Development Cooperation, Public Health & Environment, Home Affairs, Budget and Defence. B-FAST was founded in in 2003. This permanent structure allows the team to quickly and efficiently provide emergency aid to countries affected by a disaster. In order to activate the B-FAST structure, the disaster must be of such a scale that the emergency services of the affected countries can no longer provide the required aid, the government of the affected country has requested aid from Belgium, or at least from the international community, and there are no armed conflicts going on in the affected region.
The B-FAST team that is participating in the exercise in Moldavia is a mixed team lead by Patrick Broeckx, Deputy Unit Commander of the Civil Defence Operational Unit in Ghlin, a Civil Defence USAR (Urban Search And Rescue) team with 33 members, fire brigade personnel and a medical team with 15 volunteers from various Belgian hospitals.
The USAR team is made up of 11 Civil Defence Agents and 18 fire brigade employees from 11 different fire brigade corps. They are specialised in tracking, localising and saving survivors buried under the rubble of collapsed buildings. For this exercise, they are taking specialised equipment with, including telescopic cameras, listening apparatus, drills and jacking cushions. They have followed the same basic training as their colleagues from other countries and can therefore work well together.
The exercise is prepared in close collaboration with the Federal Information Center for Civil Protection, the Directorate-General for Civil Protection and the other B-FAST departments.
Scenario for the NATO exercise in Moldavia (SIMULATION)
On 25 August 2011 at 04.30, an earthquake with a measurement of 7.5 on the Richter Scale struck in Romania, also disturbing the neighbouring country of Moldavia. Many buildings have been destroyed; people are injured, missing and/or homeless; electricity, water and road systems are damaged; poisonous substance leaks from industrial installations have been reported. On 27 August 2011, the Moldavian Ministry of Foreign Affairs decided to request aid from the international community. Twenty-seven countries answered the call and work for one week together to cope as efficiently as possible with the consequences of the earthquake.
More information
Eva Burm
FOD Binnenlandse Zaken | SPF Intérieur | FPS Home Affairs
Attaché Communicatie • Attachée Communication • Communications Attaché
eva.burm@ibz.fgov.be
T 02 500 25 66
F 02 500 21 12
FOD Binnenlandse Zaken | SPF Intérieur | FPS Home Affairs
Michel Malherbe
Spokesman Foreign Affairs
michel.malherbe@diplobel.fed.be
Mobile 0477/403212