Volunteer Heroes

Volunteer search and rescue team emphasizes commitment and safety By Wang Hairong

Volunteer Heroes

Volunteer search and rescue team emphasizes commitment and safety By Wang Hairong

EMERGENCY TRAINING: A member of the Beijing branch of the Blue Sky Voluntary Search and Rescue Team explains the way to use outdoor rescue equipment to medical workers at the Beijing 999 First Aid Center on May 19, 2011

Running along a sheer cliff with steep drops on either side, the Jiankou section of the Great Wall is one of the most scenic and rugged sections of the 600-year-old defensive work in the vicinity of Beijing. It is also a frequent site of accidents as the section’s isolation, steep terrain, and the poor condition of the wall’s masonry make climbing and exploring in the area difficult and dangerous.

On February 4, a man was reported missing in the vicinity of the Jiankou section of Great Wall. His family finally turned to the Blue Sky Voluntary Search and Rescue Team(Blue Sky) for help.

After receiving the message, Blue Sky quickly sent several squads to the mountain and over 300 members took part in the search,though the man remains missing.

“When serious natural disasters take place, the government-af fi liated forces play a major role in search and rescue of survivors,and volunteer search and rescue teams assist their efforts. In recreational accidents,however, volunteer rescuers are playing an increasingly important role,” said Zhang Yong,Blue Sky’s team leader.

Officially established in 2007, Blue Sky has approximately 500 members in Beijing,Zhang toldBeijing Review. It has a further 5,000 members and 18,000 registered volunteers in 26 provinces across the country.

In recent years, outdoor sports have surged in popularity in China. Consequently,a number of adventure lovers got lost, trapped or injured.

According to Blue Sky’s 2011 Annual Report, there were reportedly 492 outdoor accidents in China last year, up from 182 in 2010. Beijing alone saw 49 such accidents, 16 of which occurred at the Jiankou section of the Great Wall.

Active rescuers

Blue Sky’s members come from all walks of life, including demobilized servicemen,doctors, teachers and students. They usually respond to local outdoor emergencies. Since Blue Sky’s establishment, its volunteers have carried out more than 100 search and rescue missions.

The team has a hotline that people can dial for free search and rescue services. Upon receiving an emergency call, several experienced team members will quickly analyze the request and see if the team can help out.If it can, a message will be sent to every team member asking those close to the accident scene to volunteer. The fi rst squad will quickly assemble and depart. Then, a second squad will be assembled.

In addition, Blue Sky offers free training to the public on safety during outdoor activities.Its team members have also provided volunteer communication, rescue and medical services at dozens of major sports events in Beijing.

Blue sky volunteers have also made a contribution to relief work following major natural disasters. After the Wenchuan earthquake in southwest China’s Sichuan Province in May 2008, which left more than 80,000 people dead or missing and millions of homes destroyed, Blue Sky transported emergency supplies to disaster-stricken areas and provided temporary lodging to tens of thousands of survivors. During the post-disaster reconstruction, it helped local farmers sell their agricultural products.

When southwestern Guizhou Province suffered from severe drought in early 2010,Blue Sky sent four groups of volunteers, who explored 45 caves and found 11 drinking water sources. It also set up three emergency water supply stations, which provided drinking water to 500,000 people.

ON THE SCENE: Blue Sky volunteers carry out search and rescue missions in earthquake-struck Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, northwest China’s Qinghai Province, on April 17, 2010

Blue Sky also participated in search and rescue efforts after an earthquake struck Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture,northwest China’s Qinghai Province, in April 2010. Members of the Qinghai Branch of Blue Sky departed for the disaster area 41 minutes after the quake hit. They were the first volunteers to arrive at the scene, who arrived just three hours after China’s largest official search and rescue team, the China International Search and Rescue Team.

In Yushu, Blue Sky members pulled 12 survivors from the debris, treated 1,165 victims and transported 25 people suffering from bone fractures to medical facilities. They also set up a communication relay station in the disaster area.

Difficult beginning

Blue Sky was set up by several outdoor sports enthusiasts, including the current team leader Zhang.

Growing up at the foot of Taihang Mountains, a major mountain range in north China, Zhang began climbing mountains in his childhood.

Although he later joined the army, then studied law and went into business, he never gave up his passion for mountaineering.

In 2005, Zhang moved to Beijing from his hometown in Hebei Province. He said that he came to Beijing because he could fi nd more people who share his passion for outdoor sports in the city.

In Beijing, Zhang worked at a firm during the daytime, and in his spare time, he explored Beijing’s mountains and rivers with like-minded friends.

In March 2007, a young editor got lost when climbing a mountain in suburban Beijing and eventually died because of the low outdoor temperatures on a winter night.This tragic event made Zhang realize the need for a volunteer search and rescue team in the city.

After Blue Sky was set up, Zhang quit his job and went full-time in it. In 2008, Blue Sky partnered with the Beijing branch of the Red Cross Society of China. In September 2010,it officially registered with the Beijing Civil Affairs Bureau as a non-pro fi t organization.

Before Blue Sky’s official registration,it could not receive donations. Zhang said that except for its missions to Guizhou and Qinghai whose expenses were afforded by the Red Cross Society of China, other missions of Blue Sky were all self-funded.

“Volunteers drove their own cars, brought their own equipment to search and rescue missions, and paid for food and lodging out of their own pockets,” said Zhang. “Even the cost of training was shared by team members.”

Zhang said that as it has registered as a non-profit organization, Blue Sky can now accept donations from the public, and the government shall pay for its operation costs.

Seeking excellence

In China, there are three categories of search and rescue forces. The fi rst category consists of the army, police, fi re fi ghters, reserve forces and militia. The second is comprised of professional forces under certain industries or companies. The third includes volunteer search and rescue teams of different sizes, which are springing up across the country.

“There are more than 100 volunteer search and rescue teams in China, yet 95 percent of them are not well organized,” said Zhang.

Blue Sky aspires to become a high-caliber, well-equipped and disciplined team.

Recently, the group set up a number of specialized units; a dive rescue unit, a sniffer dog unit and a cave rescue unit, the fi rst of its kind in China.

To join Blue Sky, an applicant is required to go through military training and training in medical treatment and wireless communication. Those who pass the examinations in the above categories become reserve members.

They can then participate in search and rescue operations, and receive more training. Zhang said that about 60 of the 500 plus members in Blue Sky’s Beijing Branch have passed all categories of required assessments.

In addition to training on skills, Zhang emphasizes discipline. He said that search and rescue volunteers are different from ordinary volunteers for they are there to save people’s lives. “If volunteers do not remain orderly and disciplined at the search and rescue scene, they will put themselves, the people they want to help and other team members at risk,” he said.

A problem facing volunteer search and rescue teams like Blue Sky is the dif fi culty in securing adequate insurance for team members. “We’ve talked to insurance companies many times, and they refuse to insure us.They said that we are not eligible because we are volunteers,” Zhang said.

What Blue Sky can do is to buy outdoor safety insurance for volunteers, but the insurance only covers safety risks while traveling to and from disaster sites, not safety at the search and rescue sites. So before volunteers set out on every operation, they are reminded that they themselves have to be responsible for any consequence.

Zhang believes search and rescue volunteers should know their limits and not endanger themselves and others by taking undue risks.

He frequently tells Blue Sky members,“We should be heroes, but more importantly,living heroes.”

equipment, 600-square-meter of space and professional training from relevant organizations such as the Red Cross Society of China, the Beijing branch of the Red Cross Society of China and the China International Search and Rescue Team.