Red Cross practiced:

Search dogs rescue people trapped after explosion

Noses on the ground rehearsed an emergency on Saturday with a simulated explosion in Linz.(Bild: Einöder Horst)

A gas tank explodes in the plant room of a house, several people are missing. The fear: they are buried under rubble. Fortunately, this scenario was only an exercise scenario for the Red Cross in Linz on Saturday.

The Red Cross Upper Austria rehearsed an emergency in an empty furniture store in Linz with around 15 search dogs. Every minute counts when it comes to finding missing persons and saving lives.

The Red Cross has a total of 70 search dog teams in Upper Austria.(Bild: Einöder Horst)

There are different types of trained sniffer dogs, explains search dog trainer Eveline Neissl (53), who took part in the exercise with her English Springer Spaniel "Asterix": "Some are personal detection dogs that pick up the scent of a specific missing person. On the other hand, there are our area search dogs, which comb through an area, pick up every human scent and bark until the handler is there."

Eveline Neissl with her English Springer Spaniel "Asterix".(Bild: Einöder Horst)

"Are you all there because of me?"
Neissl - a volunteer since 1999 - trains with her "Asterix" two to three times a week. Some of the 70 search dogs of the Upper Austrian Red Cross have also been deployed internationally, for example after earthquakes in Iran or Turkey.

However, Neissl's best deployment was at home: "We once found a gentleman with dementia in St. Marienkirchen and brought him to the fire department. He then asked: 'Are you all here for me? That's really nice!"

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Auch Helfer brauchen Hilfe

60 percent of Upper Austrians are involved in voluntary work. This adds up to 2.8 million hours of voluntary work per week.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV, Harald Dostal)

The many volunteers are therefore the backbone of many life-saving organizations - such as the search dog squadron. Not only do they deserve appreciation, they also need support. Tomorrow, the state government will approve a fund worth 100,000 euros to provide financial support to associations looking for new volunteers - an important and right step.