Special unit to help recover valuables lost in flood

A specialist urban search and rescue team will shore up flood-wrecked Tauranga houses today so distressed owners can have a chance to retrieve treasures.

It will be the first big deployment for the two-year-old Auckland-based task force, the newest of three elite units nationwide trained to work in collapsed structures and confined spaces.

The Palmerston North unit, established before those of Christchurch and Auckland, is also providing staff and equipment.

Tauranga City Council called in Urban Search and Rescue yesterday in response to pleas from evicted residents to be able to salvage a photograph or a special keepsake before their homes were demolished.

Task force leader Roy Breeze said about 30 people, making up four operational squads, should be able to "work our way into the worst buildings", mainly at Otumoetai, after planning their strategy.

The unit was set up to respond to natural hazards, such as earthquakes, floods, storms, tsunami and volcanoes, which can trap people in buildings. Fully-funded since 2000, it is administered by the Fire Service and Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management.

Jim Stuart-Black, the Fire Service's national manager for specialist operations, said the multi-agency teams were made up of men and women from mid-20s to middle-aged.

They came from the fire, ambulance, police and defence services and included engineers, dog handlers, paramedics, and logistics and communications specialists. All had had rigorous training.

He said their job this week would be to provide stability in unsafe properties to allow temporary access. Not only would homeowners be able to collect their valuables but professionals such as surveyors would get a chance to get into the damaged buildings.

The crews, which came with $1.5 million worth of equipment, were set up to be self-sufficient, with food, clothing and other necessities, for 72 hours if necessary.

"We carry a very large volume of equipment," Mr Stuart-Black said. The crews use large trucks with sliding side panels which include cutting, moving and reinforcing gear.

American firefighters are watching how authorities deal with the latest Bay of Plenty disaster. On a visit to this country, the international president of the Institution of Fire Engineers, Bill Peterson, from Plano in Texas, was at Matata yesterday with the organisation's New Zealand president, Murray Binning.

He emailed the task force's website address to Washington and images of the disaster were being sent around the United States.

Matata had suffered "enormous damage, in anyone's language. It's awful," said Mr Peterson.

"This demonstrates the variety of work and disasters firefighters get themselves into."