St. Petersburg Regional Non-Profit Organization “VRA Extremum” – is a non-profit organization joining together qualified volunteer rescuers and volunteers. There are no paid employees in the organization.
The main activity of the organization
• Rescue and search-and-rescue activities, firefighting operations
• Organizing volunteers for rescue operations in emergency situations
• Professional training of volunteers for emergency situations and rescue activities
• Promotion of volunteer rescuers movement
Membership of the organization:
As or October 15, 2019 St. Petersburg Regional Non-Profit Organization Volunteer Rescuers Association “Extremum” includes 206 members of the organization + 355 volunteer assistants. Of 206 member of the organization 122 persons have the state certification, and namely:
• “Rescuer of the RF” – 95 persons
• “Rescuer of the 3d class” – 22 persons
• “Rescuer of the 2nd class” – 5 persons
Search-and-Rescue Team EXTREMUM:
Search-and-Rescue Team EXTREMUM (further SRT “Extremum”) is an entity having the state certification for the right for running rescue operations in conformance with the Ministry of Emergency Situations and professional rescue teams and complete with equipment and munitions for running rescue and search-and-rescue operations.
SRT Extremum membership:
SRT Extremum rescuers are professionally trained and certified volunteer rescuers (qualification “Rescuer of the RF” and higher) directly participating in search-and-rescue operations. The current number of the SRT members is 73 certified rescuers.
The corps has had its own cynological department since 2010. As of October 15, 2019 the cynological department of the SRT Extremum includes 17 certified cynological teams out of which 11 having the valid certification of the MES for search and rescue operations until 2020.
Finance. The organization is running on its own funds. Sources of financing: membership fees, donations, grants.
Cooperation with state organizations:
Within the framework of the rescue activity the organization has agreements and is actively cooperating with:
• State Department of the MES in St. Petersburg
• State Department of the MES in Leningradskaya Oblast
• Bureau of Criminal Investigation in St. Petersburg and Leningradskaya Oblast
• Investigation Committee of Leningradskaya Oblast
• Rescue Departments and administrations of Leningradkaya Oblast districts
History:
• 2006 – founding the organization. Non-profit training courses for rescuers were launched. Since 2007 up to the present more than 800 people have been trained. All of the courses graduates received a qualification “Rescuer of the RF”.
• 2009 – own cynological service was formed. The project “Strelki” (“Arrows”) was started. The corps members started to participate in search-and-rescue operations in the natural environment. Volunteer rescuers started to watch and guard the safety at public events. Activities for animals rescue in manmade environment were launched.
• 2010 – SRT Extremum was certified as a Rescue Organization and received the permission for running rescue operations
• 2012 – The first firefighting volunteer team (VFT) was founded (Volunteer Firefighting Team SRT Extremum).
• 2016 – Duty calls of the VFT at the own Fast Response Vehicle UAZ – 23632 ( FRV project - The Fifth Duty). 870 rescue operations in the natural environment. 404 calls for animal rescue. Duty calls at 54 public events. 100 cases “responding to a situation” of the FRV.
• 2017 – 590 rescue operations in the woods. 695 cases of “responding to a situation” for animals rescue. Duty calls at 52 public events. 150 cases of “responding to a situation” of the FRV.
• 2018 – the Federal project “Rescuer. Close” was launched. 1020 rescue operations in the woods. 1001 cases of “responding to a situation” for animals rescue. Duty calls at 58 public events. 297 cases of “responding t a situation” for the FRV. Started working on preparing the corps for the transition to INSARAG international standards.
ACTIVITIES
RESCUE OPERATIONS
Search of people in the natural environment
SRT Extremum takes an active part in rescue operations for search and rescue of people lost in the woods. During the summer period, especially while the berries and mushroom picking is blooming, up to 40-50 people in Leningradskaya Oblast and St. Petersburg get lost on the woods. Since 2009 more than 4900 rescue operations have been realized including the ones with small aircrafts. During the period between January 1, 2019 to October 10, 2019 923 search-and-rescue operations including 59 on the territory of St. Petersburg were fulfilled. 1925 people needed the assistance. SRT Extremum provided management of search operations in the natural environment including 24/7/365 duty calls of rescuers, dispatchers and guards on duty.
Besides the activity on the territory of Leningradskaya Oblast rescuers and alpinists of the corps go the remote regions responding to the requests for assistance in search-and-rescue operations including mountain areas. The Mobilization system for rescue operations in other regions is working.
Number of requests for SRO (Search-and-Rescue Operations
Volunteer firefighting team (VFT)
Since 2012 VFT SRT Extremum has regular duty calls within the 2nd St. Petersburg Federal Fire Fighting Department Brigade. Besides, since 2016 these duty calls include work on our own Fast Response Vehicle equipped with hydraulic rescue tools, various rescue and firefighting tools and other necessary instruments and devices. Our VFT members participated in more than 800 fire fighting and rescue operations.
In 2019 volunteer firefighters were on duty 121 times and went out for 267 firefighting calls and combustion occurrences, liquidations of road traffic accidents consequences, work at heights, doors breaking and various rescue operations.
Duties at injury-risk public events
SRT Extremum provides safety at such public events as knights’ tournaments, historical reconstructions, competitions, sports events, off-road competitions, paragliding, festivals, etc. both in the Russian Federation and abroad.
Rescuing animals (“KOSHKISPAS”)
SRT Extremum takes part in animals rescuing in manmade environment. Since 2009 we have responded to more than 4000 requests for assistance (taking off trees, taking out of hatches, shafts, unblocking, etc.)
Working at mass emergency situations
In compliance with requirements of the federal law to rescue operations SRT Extremum is always ready to take part in liquidating consequences of emergency situations.
In particular, in October 2018 SRT Extremum took part in searching for injured people after the collapse of Avangard plant in Gatchinsky district of Leningradskaya oblast.
In February 2019 SRT Extremum also took part in searching for injured people and eliminating consequences of the building collapse of St. Petersburg national research university of information technologies, mechanics and optics.
TRAINING
Cynological service
Our cynological service was founded in 2009 and up to the present moment continues to train cynological teams for searching for injured people in natural and manmade environment (in collapses, avalanches). Cynological service of the SRT Extremum includes teams certified both by the standards of the MES (SRS-A and SRS-B) and by the international standards IRO and IPO-R (V and A).
Rescuers training
Every beginning of June since 2010 we hold an open education and training event – big “Extremum Training Drills” – complex drills with full imitation of search and rescue operations under various conditions. During the training maneuvers teams of rescuers under the management of the headquarters have the opportunity to get trained in all the spectrum of rescue operations from the first-aid in difficult conditions, eliminating consequences of road accidents up to firefighting, rescue works at heights, in collapses and various manmade environment emergency situations, etc. The duration of training maneuvers is 36 hours nonstop.
We also hold complex internal training drills of the SRT Extremum not less than 4 times a year where we train both mobilization and team interaction and individual skills.
Volunteer firefighters training system
• Professional training of volunteers firefighting teams
• Hydraulic rescue tool training course
• Road accidents tactics
• Defensive driving course
Training system for search and rescue operations in the natural environment
• Introductory course
• Training team leaders
• Tactics of search operations in the natural environment
• Coordinators training course
• Training search operations managers course
“Training SRO” – annual complex training drills at the end of May with full imitation of search and rescue operations in the natural environment which include training courses and training interaction with small aircrafts.
First aid training system
• Training classes of specific basic first aid skills (CPR, bleeding arrest, etc.)
• Training course for working in group by ITLS methods (International protocols for working with injuries)
• Complex training drills including situational tasks with realistic imitation
Federal project “Rescuer.Near”
This is a SRT Extremum project devoted to providing first aid to the injured by the closest qualified professionals. The system allows witnesses or the injured themselves to find professionally trained volunteer for providing first aid with the help of the mobile application. On the other hand, volunteers could apply their skills to practice and provide a real assistance to the ones in need.
As of October 2019 more than 200 rescuers in St. Petersburg, Moscow, Chelyabinsk and Sochi are registered in the system and regularly are on duty. We have concluded agreements with 9 educational centers, complete steps for further development of the project.
Project “Strelki” (“Arrows”)
Within the framework of the project we place arrow and other information signs in the woods areas where people get lost most often. The sign has a form of an arrow and contains some text information. Each arrow has a number and a name of the closest village and the distance to it. Coordinates data of the arrows are available on the open information portal based on the sign number.
The efficiency of the program was confirmed by the statistics.
Since 2015 this program was supported in other regions and with the help of SRT Extremum is being successfully realzed in Tatarstan, Tverskaya, Nizhegorodskaya and Moscovskaya oblasts.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Address: 191119, St. Petersburg, ul.Marata, 82, литер «Ч»
Official site: www.extremum.spb.ru
E-mail: mail@extremum.spb.ru
Duty telephone number (24 hours): (812) 933-24-36
St. Petersburg Regional Non-Profit Organization “VRA Extremum” Chairman of the Board – Boris Leytes
SRT Rescue Organization Extremum Chief – Alexander Khaitin
Contact person for SRT Extremum training for INSARAG attestation, First Deputy Chief of the SRT Extremum Valeria Verkhovodko