Visit to West Coast By Red Cross team

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 32860, 8 March 1972, Page 11

Visit to West Coast By Red Cross team

About 30 members of the 1 North Canterbury Red Cross ' disaster relief team, together ( with several observers, will ■eave Christchurch oh the 1 svening of March 17 for a I week-end trip to the West ] Coast, where they will practise and demonstrate their skills, Two utility vehicles with their specially equipped trailers and the relief centre 1 caravan, which may be used is a central bureau in the tvent of a disaster pr emergency, will be taken on the .rip to be used in the exercises and demonstrations.

A third utility vehicle and railer, the complement of he disaster relief unit for he Christchurch area, is exacted to arrive in Christ-

church on the day before the exercise. If it does, the eational training officer for he society (Mr M. K. Lewin) ■nd the secretary-manager of the Canterbury branch (Mr

R. J. Lipscombe) will travel in the vehicle as observers. The trip will combine exercises in emergency rescues with a demonstration and display at the Greymouth Showgrounds at the request of the Greymouth branch of the Red Cross Society. Dr G. N. Ferner, the organ-iser-in-chief in North Canterbury for disaster teams, will lead the trip. After completing an exercise in river rescue in the Maruia Springs-Springs Junction area, the team members will leave for Blackball, where they will be given practice in extracting “victims” from old abandoned

houses. Later that day, team members will demonstrate a rescue from the roof of the Greymouth Show Grounds

grandstand and will complete another rescue exercise in Greymouth before returning through Arthur’s Pass, where a cliff rescue from a 200ftdeep gully will be tried.