20 Interesting facts about DWMRT

BeardyGit

1. All members are volunteers, receiving absolutely NO expenses for their time and personal investment.
2. Team members are on call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year - We go out in any weather, anywhere we're requested to help.
3. MR can only be called out using 999/112 - Never call a team directly.
4. There are approximately 40 to 50 callouts per year for our team - This varies for other teams around Ireland.
5. Approximate annual running costs for the DWMRT are €50K
6. Approximately €20K of this €40-50K is supplied by government agencies
7. The €30k shortfall has to be made up from some small grants, donations & fundraising
8. Approximately 40 full team members in DWMRT
9. Mountain Rescue is free in Ireland - Nobody receives a bill for our services, ever.
10. Members receive no payment for mountain rescue involvement. We are 100% staffed and run by volunteers.
11. Members receive no expenses for gear, petrol etc.
12. Mountain Rescue works closely with other agencies such as the Gardai (our tasking agency), Park Rangers, Search & Rescue Dogs Association (SARDA), The Irish Coastguard etc
13. Dublin Wicklow Mountain Rescue Team provide cover for all of Dublin & Wicklow and works closely with its neighbouring team, The Glen of Imaal MRT, along with other IMRA teams nationwide.
14. Most DWMRT members live in Dublin, Wicklow & Kildare
15. There are 12 mountain rescue teams in the country
16. All 12 teams are affiliated to IMRA, the Irish Mountain Rescue Association.
17. Team members come from all walks of life including carpenters, engineers, scientists, IT, paramedics, firemen, civil servants to name just a few.
18. All team members have to provide most of their own personal equipment (Some personal protective equipment is provided)
19. All Members are medically trained to Rescue Emergency Care standard, some members at Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician level and some members are professional Advanced Paramedics for example.
20. The most common injury is a lower leg fracture.....

BeardyGit

Just a few interesting points there for thought folks - They're pretty much the same for all mountain rescue teams in the Republic. I'd love to hear from anyone who's surprised by what they read above, as it seems many people are very misinformed about how they operate and just what they do.

For example, did you know mountain rescue are tasked by Garda command in Dublin and are available to Gardaí nationwide? Did you know they're only partially funded by the government and that when they're not training or on operations they're trying to raise funds by shaking buckets and the like?

Cheers,

Gil

Eru

Not really surprised at all too be honest. You should remove services and force the governments hands in regards to equipment otherwise it will not enter the agenda until one of your members gets killed on duty.

I dont know any service in Ireland that is properly resourced by the government.

BeardyGit

Well, the reality is that mountain rescue people are all experienced hillwalkers, outdoors-people and mountaineers ourselves, so they know just how important the service they provide is when things go wrong.

The reality is that mountain rescue teams will never withdraw service because of the critical nature of what that service provides. There simply aren't any available substitutes with the level of specialist knowledge mountain rescue personnel would have, so they'd ultimately leave someone at great risk by pulling the plug just to make a point. But I understand the sentiment.

TheNog

I think I speak for everyone when I say ye do great work especially since it is voluntary work. I also think that it is a disgrace that ye are not fully funded by the government even just for coverage of expenses and equipment. If all Mountain Rescue teams need just 50k for the year that equates to less that a million euro.

Perhaps the TDs could forego some of their wages to properly fund rescue teams and not be leaving the volunteers out of pocket which I am sure happens from time to time.

Have ye considered a petition to the government?

BeardyGit

TheNog wrote: »

.....properly fund rescue teams and not be leaving the volunteers out of pocket which I am sure happens from time to time.

I spent about €3.5k last year on replacement equipment, petrol and other training and operationally incurred costs, and about 2k the year before. I'd imagine that's probably typical enough, and mind, there are 40 of us on our team. I don't think anyone who does this job cribs about spending that money on our own expenses, although I can only speak for myself of course!

MrDylan

Sounds like a great job you guys do. Do you have to live near the Dublin/ Wicklow mountains to be a volunteer? Does your unit cover all of Dublin like if someone is stuck on a crane in the city or someone stuck on the cliffs along the coast?

BeardyGit

Hi Dylan,

We're primarily a mountain rescue team, but we'll assist other agencies if they need to use our specialists for crag or rope access. In the case of sea-cliffs, there are times when we'd be involved, but they're thankfully a rare enough occurance. The Coastguard actually have some cliff rescue teams spread around the coast, so they'll usually be the first agency called for that kind of thing. As for cranes, that's an entirely different thing altogether from what we do, involving very different skills and equipment. I think most crane operators/drivers are trained in self rescue, and can be rescued by colleagues or else fire brigade & civil defence rope access technicians if required (I could be wrong about the firebrigade though - Anyone confirm?)

Ta,

Gil

MrDylan

Thanks Gill.

Whats the story with where you live if you are a volunteer, do you have be a certain distance from the base station? How long does it normally take to get your vehicles mobile? Is it via pager or mobile phone.

Never heard of the Civil Defence ropes technican team, are they Dubin based? Do you train with other agencies?