Founded some 10 years ago on little more than a dream, Johannesburg-based Rescue South Africa is today Africa’s only advanced urban search and rescue operation. The Rescue SA emergency response team has been deployed to humanitarian disasters all over the world, most recently the Haitian earthquake and an aircraft crash in the jungles of the Republic of the Congo.

Disaster has no hours and Rescue SA volunteers are on 24-hour standby to provide assistance at home and abroad. To help the non-government organisation operate more efficiently and ensure a rapid response to disasters, Barloworld Handling has now provided it with a 2.5 ton Hyster forklift that will be used in the Rescue SA warehouse in Kempton Park. The specially refurbished LPG forklift was supplied at a significantly reduced rate as part of Barloworld Handling’s corporate social investment programme.

The Rescue SA team previously had to weigh, load and off-load all equipment by hand. To illustrate the enormity of this task, the relief mission to Haiti required hand loading of nine tons of equipment, says Rescue South Africa founder and CEO Ian Scher. “The forklift from Barloworld Handling will help us run a more professional operation and save many hours of the rescue team’s time.”

The Rescue SA disaster response team is made up of volunteer emergency response specialists from the South African public and private sector emergency and ancillary services. The team includes specialist rescuers, trauma doctors, paramedics, K9 search dogs, civil engineers en hazardous chemicals and safety specialists. All equipment – ranging from ultra sophisticated search scope technology to tents and food – is donated or purchased with donations.

“Our next aim is to offer disaster and rescue training throughout the SADC region, to improve local skills sets. We have already purchased the necessary training equipment, funded by USAID, for this,” says Scher.

Operating according to UN guidelines for rescue teams, Rescue SA enables South Africa to offer a professional response to worldwide relief efforts without stripping the country’s emergency response assets, and also strengthens our domestic disaster response capacity.

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At the Rescue South Africa warehouse in Kempton Park. Standing from left are Clint Vosloo of Barloworld Handling and Ian Scher, CEO of Rescue SA. Hugh Price-Hughes of Rescue SA is seated on the organisation’s newly delivered Hyster forklift.

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Hugh Price-Hughes of Rescue SA demonstrates the latest Searchcam search scope technology.

__________________________________________________________________________
Issued on behalf of:   
Barloworld Handling
Tel: 011 898 0480
Contact: Rudolph Briedenhann
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For further info please contact:
Brooke Browde Communications
Tel: 011 483 1823
Contact: Anita van Zyl
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