Within two hours of a call for duty, a select team of Queensland Ambulance Service specialists must be ready to deploy to a disaster zone anywhere in the world.

QAS Media’ was ‘in the trenches’ earlier this month watching on as 15 handpicked paramedics slid their way through muddy underground tunnels, climbed over unstable concrete rubble and abseiled scaffolds, to compete for four coveted positions on this team.

Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) is a highly-trained group of emergency service personnel, comprising paramedics and firefighters, who can be deployed to disaster zones’ affected communities to help them navigate the initial chaos following a disaster.

The hopeful paramedics vying for selection were put through the wringer at the Whyte Island Queensland Combined Emergency Services Academy (QCESA).

The cold, wet weather also added a challenging element to the group’s practical scenarios, mimicking the types of disaster zones this team may need to respond to in the future.

QAS Kedron Station’s paramedic Andrew Rochecouste was one of the experienced mentors guiding the paramedics through their tasks.

In late May this year, Andrew was deployed in Queensland’s AUS-1 Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART), the first Australian group, to travel to Mulitaka, a village in Enga Province in the remote Papua New Guinea Highlands after its community was devastated by a huge landslide. (Read about his deployment here.)

Taking the USAR hopefuls through the testing process was Woodridge Officer in Charge Jason Dutton, who had the challenging task of selecting the four successful applicants.

“We have to be prepared for anything – from a building collapse to an earthquake or a cyclone – our USAR team members are the ones sent into danger zones to rescue people,” said Jason.

“Disasters happen, and when they do, our USAR team is ready to go and support those regions with medical assistance.”

Congratulations to Gold Coast’s Shannon Walboom and Trevor Glass, Metro North’s Jeff Munro and Metro South’s Tim Bickerton who secured spots on the QAS USAR team.