Location:
Basrah, Iraq
URBAN SEARCH & RESCUE TRAINING
Sallyport Specific Services:
Specialty Training
Equipment Procurement
Equipment Maintenance
Overview:
Sallyport, under Prime Contract W91GXZ-06-C-0027, built and equipped an Urban Search & Rescue (US&R) Training Facility at the JTA Basrah Facility in Al Basrah, Iraq. Sallyport trained firefighters in the Iraqi Civil Defense Directorate (ICDD), which is composed of over 11,500 firefighters assigned to more than 220 fire stations. Under the former Saddam Hussein regime, fire service was largely ignored. Firefighters in the ICDD received little or no training. Saddam-era firefighters merely contained fires, as they were not trained to rescue persons trapped inside burning buildings. Since 2003, Iraqi Civil Defense firefighters have extinguished 120,418 fires throughout the country, rescued 2,050 persons, and located and neutralized 148,984 IEDs and other explosive devices, savings thousands of lives.
Scope of Services:
The ICDD students received Rescue Technician (Structural Collapse), FEMA Structural Collapse, and Incident Command training. This program complied with NFPA 1006, Standard for Rescue Technician Professional Qualifications; NFPA 1670, Standard on Operations and Training for Technical Rescue Incidents; and the FEMA National US&R Response System, Structural Collapse Technician Training Course. The course consisted of a combination of classroom study, drill field practice, and training evolutions that prepared the fire fighters to perform urban search and rescue.
- Multiple US&R classes were taught, consisting of 40 students per class with a period of instruction of 13 weeks.
- Each class was lead by two American NFPA 1001 Certified Fire Fighter Instructors and two Bolivian Assistant Instructors who, using translators, provided a course of instruction as well as training aids and student manuals in Arabic.
- Training tested cognitive skills regarding the decision-making process in a stressed and non-stressed environment.
- Training utilized specialized equipment and students showed a demonstrated knowledge through hands-on application.
- Program addressed heavy construction collapse and emphasized the following discipline areas: breaching and breaking, lifting and moving, interior shoring, exterior shoring, and cutting and burning.
- Course accredited by IFSAC/Pro Board Application