Two members of the Barcelona Fire Service were chosen by Spain’s civil protection service and the European Union to travel to Haiti and help with rescue work following the massive earthquake in August. One of them, David Douglas, a firefighter and technical architect, gave a first-hand account of his experience in a webinar from the Espai Bombers.

A qualified technical architect, David Douglas gave a first-hand account of his professional experience on this European mission. The main goal was to assess the structural condition of roads and buildings such as hospitals and schools, as part of a support team for the reconstruction of Haiti and the assessment of needs.

The quake caused over 2,000 deaths and injured many others. Together with twelve firefighters from six European countries, Douglas helped with the recovery operation in the country, its reconstruction and tasks relating to collapsed structures.

Sebastià Massagué, head of the Fire Prevention, Extinction and Rescue Service, initiated the session, which was broadcast from the Espai Bombers – Parc de la Prevenció. Massagué made reference to collaboration and international missions.

Rosa Mata, head of the Civil Protection Logistics and Territorial Operations Service for the Government of Catalonia, explained the international emergency mechanism for Civil Protection, which requires joint cooperation to assist countries affected by an emergency which exceeds their response capacity.