Three hours after arriving at Zurich Airport in September 2019, four members of the Japanese Disaster Rescue Dog Network changes from their clothes into orange rescue suits and climbed over the rubble at the national training centre of REDOG Search and Rescue Dogs in Ostermundigen near Bern.

Two months earlier: The REDOG search and rescue team members visit Japan. Knowledge and experience transfer. Like every year since 2011, following REDOG's deployment to the Fuskushima disaster, where an intensive exchange was born. Thanks to ten initiative by Walter Kielholz, the Swiss Re President at the time, and with financial help from the Swiss reinsurer, REDOG developed a training programme for search and rescue dogs in Japan.

REDOG supports DRDN with training

This year, REDOG and the Disaster Rescue Dog Network (DRDN) signed an agreement for intensifying and solidifying our cooperation. REDOG supports its Japanese colleagues with professionalising the training standard and improving the cooperation between search and rescue teams in the country. In addition to training and further education, we help with matters such as training planning and facilities.

Support in the event of deployments

“REDOG regards this partnership as an opportunity to support emergency aid services,” comments Linda Hornisberger, regional manager of REDOG Search and Rescue. REDOG will support the DRDN in the event of a deployment in Japan. “When deploying foreign teams, targeted support is valuable to ensure that the deployment commences as quickly as possible and in a targeted manner,” explains the search expert. “We are confident that such partnerships make a lot of sense as a high training standard, especially in earthquake regions, is extremely important.” The quicker persons buried under rubble are found, the higher is their chance of survival. The better the network between the search dog organisations and rescue organisations, the quicker and more efficiently their joint deployment.

Visit in Geneva and Ostermundigen

In order to get an idea of the training and requirements that REDOG teams are subject to for foreign deployments, the four Japanese rescue experts visited various training events as well as the search and rescue dog teams at the army training village in Epeissen near Geneva. At the REDOG national training centre in Ostermundigen, Furukawa of DRDN commented enthusiastically: “The facility is designed to account for every dog training level. I would not be easy, but I would like to build such training facility in Japan. 

His colleague, Ichiro Yagisawa added: “Japan can learn much from Switzerland.” Such as the training events at the Serbeco recycling plant, also near Geneva, for example. The recycling plant is not a deserted factory, but a working facility where things change all the time. And once everyone has finished work for the day, the rescue dog training can commence.”

Further cooperation with the fire service

During the last visits in Japan, talks took place with the fire service about developing new training facilities. REDOG will help with the planning of this project as well – supported by one of its own experienced engineers.

Hopefully, none of these skills and know-how will ever have to be used in a real deployment. However, as especially in Japan a major earthquake is anticipated, one of the most important guiding principles, like with all rescue teams, is “be prepared” and in the case of REDOG and DRDN “be prepared together”.