Amberley Museum Emergency Services Weekend

Serve On volunteers took a vehicle and some of our specialist search and rescue equipment to exhibit at Amberley Museum and Heritage Centre near Arundel in West Sussex, for their Emergency Services Weekend on June 13 and 14.

We explained our mission and capabilities to visitors and other exhibitors, and described the use of various pieces of equipment and how they are used in different operational situations.

Our compact drone and headset were a particular hit with kids and adults alike, where we offered the opportunity to fly it inside a tent while viewing from the outside through the headset.

This replicated an operational situation where we would fly the drone into a partially collapsed or unstable building affected by an earthquake, in order to assess the situation before committing our personnel and risking their safety unnecessarily.

Another particular favourite was the water rescue throw lines, which we use to rescue people unable to get out of deep and fast-flowing water. We gave a brief demonstration and a target to ‘rescue’, and the competition commenced!

We also had some very useful conversations with other volunteer organisations and colleagues from the rescue community, fostering closer working relationships.

We particularly look forward to continuing conversations with the fire and rescue service to combine our training to the mutual benefit of our DEFRA-accredited flood and water rescue teams.

All in all an excellent weekend of raising awareness of Serve On and our capabilities, raising some funds to help us with our mission, while enjoying some beautiful weather at “Amberley Museum, The Home of Hands-On Heritage,” nestled in the heart of the South Downs.