When a building collapses and rescuers are confronted with rubble and damaged structures, rescue dogs can help locate people who may be trapped out of sight. Queensland’s Canine Urban Search and Rescue teams are trained for exactly that task.
Working with volunteer handlers as part of Australian Taskforce 1, or AUS-1, the dogs are prepared to search disaster environments for people who may be trapped beneath rubble or inside damaged structures.
Queensland Fire Department, whose State Headquarters is in Albion, maintains about six to eight competent canine handlers and dogs on the AUS-1 deployable roster.
Among them are canine handler Anita Tredrea and her dog Frodo, who recently passed their Canine Urban Search and Rescue assessments after more than two-and-a-half years of training. The milestone made them an operationally qualified AUS-1 DART pairing.
Years of work behind a single search
During a search, a dog may move across rubble while its handler watches closely for an alert. Reaching that point can take years.
QFD’s K9 handler information says teams take about 18 months on average to reach the basic qualification level, while operational readiness often takes two to three years.
Training continues one day every weekend and one night every fortnight at a facility in the Port of Brisbane, while handlers progressing towards qualification are expected to spend at least an hour each day training their dogs at home.
Tredrea and Frodo’s qualification is one example of the time behind an operational pairing. Their training stretched beyond two years before they reached the point where they could be deployed as part of the team.
What makes a rescue dog
The work starts with drive. QFD’s suitability guide tests how strongly a dog wants to chase a toy, retrieve it, tug, search for play objects and work for food.
Temperament is also assessed. Dogs are evaluated on how they respond to other dogs, strangers and unfamiliar interactions, while reliable recall and control are also part of the suitability process.
Successful USAR dogs are often herding dogs, gun dogs or crosses of those types, although other breeds have also succeeded. Brachycephalic, or snub-nosed, breeds are not accepted because of the risk of overheating.
The handler has to be ready too
The dog is only half of the team. Handlers must learn to interpret their dog’s behaviour, understand the capabilities and limitations of search canines, report search results and work alongside other rescue personnel in difficult environments.
They are also responsible for the dog’s care and welfare during operations, including helping medical personnel if treatment is required.
QFD’s suitability material makes clear that the human commitment extends well beyond the search field. Volunteers may climb over rubble, enter confined spaces, act as hidden subjects during other handlers’ training exercises, keep training logs and adapt their methods as the team develops. No qualification is guaranteed.
Ready before they are ever needed
Training involves repeated work in obedience, agility, socialisation and search exercises. The purpose comes into sharp focus when disaster strikes.
AUS-1’s canine teams have an operational goal of locating people trapped in disaster environments.
For teams such as Tredrea and Frodo, years of training sit behind every alert. Their qualification means they are ready to deploy as part of AUS-1 DART when the team is called upon.
For more information or to enquire about volunteering, contact the K9 USAR team at K9USAR@fire.qld.gov.au.