By Bev Holder
Halesowen News
CRADLEY, England — Black Country firefighters have spoken of the surreal scenes of devastation they encountered as they searched for survivors of Japan’s crushing earthquake and tsunami.
Rudy Parkes, watch commander at Cradley Fire Station, Dean Harris, station commander at Oldbury and Cradley Heath Fire Stations, and Dean Yates, from Halesowen Fire Station, were part of the UK search and rescue team deployed to the stricken country after the 8.9 quake and killer wave swept away entire communities along the north east coast.
The team spent three exhaustive days sifting through the flattened coastal cities of Ofunato and Kamaishi but despite extensive efforts no survivors were found.
After temperatures plummeted to -10 and heavy snowfall blanketed the region hopes of finding anyone alive quickly faded - and as fears of a nuclear crisis at the Fukushima power plant escalated the team were pulled out.
Father-of-one Rudy, aged 50, from Wollescote, a search and rescuer for more than 20 years, said: “It was so difficult to search - some of the debris was 20-foot deep and we were finding people’s belongings from three streets away or from the next valley.
“It was apocalyptic really.
“We feel for the Japanese people - they are very stoic, lovely people.”
Father-of-two Dean, aged 44, from Stourbridge, said: “The force of the tsunami was just like nothing I’d ever seen - everything was smashed to matchwood and there were huge vessels a mile-and-a-half inland.
“We like to come away with rescues but we were able to repatriate some people with loved ones and their treasured possessions so we have got to take some comfort from that.”
The team, who at times were working 80 miles away from the ailing Fukushima Daiichi plant, said the growing nuclear situation was more worrying for those back home than the rescuers as they wore radiation monitors and had in place robust evacuation procedures should conditions have worsened.
The gutsy guys were also up against continuing aftershocks and further tsunami threats but they returned home unscathed last Saturday (March 19).
West Midlands Fire Service chief fire officer Vij Randeniya said: “I cannot praise them enough for their dedication and commitment in carrying out this essential role especially in such arduous and stressful circumstances.”
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