The province of Huelva is hosting an advanced training course on intervention in collapsed buildings, taught by Bomberos Unidos Sin Fronteras (BUSF). The initiative brings together 20 professionals from various autonomous communities such as Madrid, Córdoba, Alicante, Burgos, the Canary Islands, and Huelva itself.
The practical exercises are taking place in an abandoned old slaughterhouse located in San Juan del Puerto. This environment allows for faithful recreation of catastrophe scenarios, both in vertical and horizontal risk structures. Rescue teams employ specialized dogs for locating potential trapped victims.
Once victims are detected, specialists proceed with probing through perforations, stabilize the structure with shoring techniques to ensure a safe working environment, and use heavy tools to penetrate concrete slabs. The training also includes the setup of safety lines for the protection of rescuers during complex extraction maneuvers.
Coordination among the different teams is crucial, dividing tasks between location, building stabilization, and the final extraction of the rescued person. This course is part of the mandatory annual training for BUSF's intervention group, which also includes pre-hospital care training.
The main objective of this preparation is to keep specialists alert and operational for potential large-scale emergencies, such as earthquakes, considering that Andalusia, and specifically the Huelva region, are located in an area with seismic risk.
