ONELIFE #35 – American English

PROJECT HERO
Paramedic Leander Vögel
waiting to board an
Army Search and Rescue
Alouette helicopter.
Below: check and check
again. Once you‘re
in the air it is too late
attended the exercise confirming: “We learned most
about the headquarters role envisioned for the vehicle
and the need for an integrated yet flexible solution,
sharing information and enhancing communications
from a single source.” They believe the greatest impact
will be on the time required to set up a forward
command post and the benefits from having the drone
provide live aerial feed of the disaster/emergency zone.
Aeronautical engineer Phair was on hand to observe
the scenarios from the perspective of unmanned aerial
vehicle (UAV) operations: “The concept of a supremely
capable off-road vehicle supporting its own UAV is how
the Austrian Red Cross and Land Rover see drones
making a real difference in emergency response and
management. We need to integrate the concept into
their current standard operating procedures.” Those
lessons learned in Austria will be cascaded across 190
Red Cross national societies and will influence the use
of drones in the humanitarian sector.
HERO DEFINED
One first responder who will ultimately benefit from the
new technology is 25-year-old volunteer paramedic
Sebastian Pohl from Lower Austria. Attending his first
major exercise with the Austrian Red Cross, the biology
student wanted to “help people,” and the paramedic
training was the best way to
achieve that. In the quarry
“YOU DON’T THINK ABOUT
scenario Pohl and his team were
the first to arrive and had to work
THE STRESS. THE TRAINING
fast. For first responders,
accessing difficult terrain quickly
KICKS IN AND YOU FOCUS
and assessing the situation
ON HELPING YOUR PATIENT” before the larger emergency
vehicles turn up are crucial. The
interplay between different
communications channels and
the UAV will save time and ultimately lives.
As Pohl adds, “Seeing the big picture, at the outset
of the crisis, is key to gaining control of a situation.”
Training reveals other considerations too, “had we been
dealing with genuine casualties, psychological support
teams would be on hand.” It is easy to forget that
rescuers are human beings and not machines, but “you
don’t think about the stress or the gravity of it all, you
just get on with it. The training kicks in and you focus on
the wellbeing of your patient.”
For this volunteer and many thousands like him in
the Red Cross and the other emergency services,
helping those in need is self-explanatory. Not everyone
can display leadership skills and stay cool in a crisis.
When asked to define heroic, Pohl’s response is “that’s
not for me to judge, but I do think that everyone else
here who has given up their spare time to train for this
is a hero.”
FIND OUT MORE
For more information search for ‘Project Hero’ on YouTube
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