Dubai Police’s Transport and Rescue Department carried out 2,543 missions in four months

The General Department of Transport and Rescue at Dubai Police carried out 2,543 diverse missions during the first four months of this year, Colonel Yahya Hussein Mohammed, deputy director of the department, revealed.

These included complex rescue missions, securing events, participating in mock incidents and providing support during fires in addition to a number of other incidents in which teams contributed to saving lives, he said.

Mohammed explained that the missions carried out in co-operation and co-ordination with Dubai civil defence included 57 difficult missions, 222 event security missions, 5 mock accidents and 62 fires.

The department also removed 451 vehicles from roads, rescued people who were trapped in cars, elevators and homes and others who fell from heights or were trapped in narrow spaces, holes or valleys due to floods, he added

The department operates round the clock and is always ready to deal with all emergency incidents, using a shift system that keeps team members constantly ready to provide a rapid response to such incidents, he said.

He stressed Dubai Police’s keenness on providing regular training to rescue team members to ensure they are capable of handling all emergency and rescue incidents in accordance with the highest international standards, particularly in traffic accidents, fires and desert, mountain and valley rescue operations.

He pointed out that the Difficult Missions Department completed a series of specialized courses in various fields including search and recovery, diving (night diving, wreck diving and deep diving), the use of rescue equipment, first aid, foam firefighting, rescue using balloons and heavy and light cranes, handling elevators and opening car doors, among others.

The department’s human resources undergo regular training throughout the year and their performance is evaluated, he added, noting that they are also given regular reinforcement courses to ensure their full readiness to deal with all types of accidents and natural disasters, in line with Dubai Police’s directives.

Mohammed emphasized that Dubai Police’s rescue and difficult missions personnel have a world-class experience in handling complex incidents such as landslides or natural disasters such as earthquakes or traffic accidents that require specialized intervention that ordinary police officers cannot handle.

A rescuer may sometimes have to crawl inside a wrecked vehicle to examine the interior and determine the appropriate course of action, he said, noting that the rescuer’s first task is to secure a path for the paramedic, enabling the latter to assess the injured person’s condition.

Some injuries such as spinal fractures require extreme caution, as pulling an injured person out in a traditional manner could worsen their condition, he said.

Although some accidents appear extremely complex but dealing with them may require a very simple solution such as moving the car seat forward or backward, he added, noting that resorting to this type of solution requires a high level of experience and skill from the team leader, as the smallest details can be the key to saving lives.

The department’s heavy rescue truck provided direct logistical support to rescuers and helped them carry out their missions with high efficiency despite the challenges, he said.

The truck is of paramount importance to the department, given that it was designed and developed locally based on the vision and observations of rescue personnel with the aim of meeting their actual needs in the field, he added.

Every part of the truck was manufactured based on accumulated experience gained from dealing with extremely difficult and complex incidents, making it an effective tool in supporting field operations inside and outside the country, he said.