Blog: Used as a drag dummy by the UKFS SAR team during a demonstration of casualty extraction from a collapsed building at the Fire expo

In 2005, during the International Fire Expo at the NEC, members of the UKFS SAR Team (UK Fire Service Search and Rescue Team) demonstrated various  rescue scenarios. One of these scenarios was the rescuing of a casualty from collapsed building. The team would have normally used a fire drill drag dummy, but on this occasion, I was the dummy. 

So that I wasn't seen walking around as the drag dummy I found a trailer that some of the rescue equipment arrived in. This was a perfect to keep the costume. About 15 minutes before each demonstration, I would make my way to the trailer and get into the drag dummy costume? then I’d lay on the floor and wait to be carried out into position in the collapsed building.

Three members of the team would then come and collect me and carry me out and place me into the scene amongst the rubble, just before the rescue demonstration started.

video here https://youtu.be/0AA_lGFT8mA

A couple of times I would get there early and wait for someone to come into the trailer, and scare the living daylights out of them.

I was also involved in a demonstration of the use of rescue dogs. They carried me out, in the dummy costume, and placed me on a stack of straw that was about to be used in fire demonstration, and had been soaked in an accelerant, unbeknownst to me. I thought, this cant be safe, but kept in character even though the fumes were pretty strong. The announcer explained the rescue scenarios, the dog is looking fir survivors, and should ignore the dummy. The dog them comes bounding up, and lands on my chest, pushing me sideways, so I play to the audience and fall, sideways. "That's odd" says the presenter, "I wonder why that happened ?".

Then I get up, and wave to the audience, ah ha  that's why ladies and gentlemen

Boy did I have a headache after all those fumes