Canadian Earthquake Rescue Teams grounded in Canada

[bcholmes]

As the hunt for survivors continues amid the rubble of Port-au-Prince, five fully equipped search-and-rescue teams specially trained to rescue people from collapsed buildings in the aftermath of an earthquake remain grounded in Canada.

The country's Heavy Urban Search and Rescue (HUSAR) teams – in Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Halifax and Manitoba – are all waiting patiently for the call to help in Haiti.

But so far no call has come.

"We have a membership that lives and breathes this type of scenario. We are itching to go," Coby Duerr, the leader of Calgary's unit, told the Calgary Herald.

"It is what we do."

— "Earthquake rescue teams remain grounded in Canada", The Toronto Star

My colleague in Vancouver says that CBC Radio One is reporting that these teams have been explicitly told to stand down.

I'm hearing that one of the concerns being raised is that if we sent our search and rescue teams to Haiti, they might not be at 100% operating capacity for the Olympics.