New Zealand Fire Service and Urban Search and Rescue (USAR)
Media update
5.30pm Tuesday 01 March 2011
USAR
• Grand Chancellor – Second concrete pour completed today and teams have now made access. NZ USAR made it to the 5th floor but the stairwell does not allow further access. We still have serious concerns about the integrity of the building. The USAR teams have requested search dogs to assist. The US team are already searching surrounding buildings in the exclusion zone

• Forsyth Barr building - USA team described this as a major technical job. Completion of this work is estimated at around 3 days. There are no stairs available for access below the 10th floor. This requires the USAR team to use lines to descend down the stairwell.

• CTV building - NZ/Japan/China teams are still working on what is a very slow and technical operation and requires good daylight visibility to progress.

• Cathedral - The steel support structure currently being constructed by engineers is expected to be finished overnight and put in place tomorrow morning. NZ team will then go in. There is an external rubble pile to be searched also.

• Pyne Gould – UK and NZ team estimated 4 days work. There are known casualties in this building but they will take time to access.
USAR Welfare
• The potential for asbestos to be an issue on some sites is being considered. USAR operations assume these types of hazards are in existence and have systems and processes and protective clothing in place. At this stage we are monitoring any potential risk and are considering mitigation strategies if required.

Reference Notes
• CTV – Japan, NZ and China daylight operations only
• Pyne Gould – UK and NZ
• Cathedral – NZ
• Forsythes Barr – USA and NZ
• Other teams continue block by block activities.
• There are eight countries represented in USAR. These include 3 NZ taskforces, Japan (1), Taiwan(1), Singapore(1), UK (1), USA(1 from LA), Australia (2 Queensland and NSW).

• Queensland are planning to rotate fresh staff over the next few days.

Please note that these NZ Fire Service/USAR updates are also displayed on the screen on the outside of the NZ Fire Service Gallery Command Unit (the red Fire Service truck outside the Art Gallery building near here on Montreal St).

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