Polski
Rubble, Tunnels and Borders: How Rescuers Test Their Limits
This week in emergency response was a lesson in humility about the scale of major incidents – from searching collapsed buildings to the logistics of international firefighting assistance. Two exercises, two countries, one common denominator: putting systems to the test to see if they truly hold up under pressure.
01 · Rubble/Collapse Rescue (USAR)
United Kingdom: A Day and Night in Rubble and Tight Tunnels
On September 17, Buckinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service opened its USAR training centre in Westcott for a 24-hour exercise bringing together specialist search-and-rescue teams from nearly all of England [1]. Teams from London, South Wales, Devon and Somerset, Tyne and Wear, and West Yorkshire converged on the site, with logistical support provided by units from Essex, Norfolk, West Midlands, and Leicestershire. The Thames Valley investigation team also took part, along with a fire investigation dog trained to detect traces of fire – Fizz, from Essex Fire and Rescue Service.
The scenario spared no one: simulated building collapses, complex rubble piles to search through, and hazards associated with road traffic accidents, including vehicle fires. Over the course of 24 hours, rescuers practised moving through tight tunnels and coordinating between units that don't normally work together – and it's exactly this kind of cross-brigade interoperability that determines how effective a response will be in a real structural collapse. For Polish search-and-rescue groups, this is an interesting point of reference: the British model shows how to build a national network of specialist mutual support, rather than relying solely on individual, local USAR teams.
02 · International Cooperation
Muszaki 26: Polish and Ukrainian Firefighters on a Shared Training Ground
From the British Isles, we move to the Masuria region, where the "Muszaki 26" exercise ran from September 21 to 24 – this time set against the backdrop of a fictional country ravaged by extensive forest fires [2]. The starting point was Olsztyn-Mazury Airport in Szymany, from which Polish GFFF and GFFFV firefighting and rescue modules, together with a group of firefighters from Ukraine, went through the full border and airport clearance procedure before heading to the training ground at the Divisional Field Training Centre in Muszaki.
It was precisely this first stage – security checks carried out by border officers and clearance handled by airport staff – that proved key to the entire exercise. Rather than moving straight into firefighting, rescuers first had to prove they could smoothly "enter" a foreign country as an organised aid module. The participation of the Ukrainian unit added an extra, practical dimension to the exercise: this wasn't just a test of EU civil protection modules, but genuine training in cross-border cooperation with a country that regularly relies – and will continue to rely – on international firefighting support.
Summary
Summary
Both exercises, despite their different scale and setting, point to the same trend: the future of emergency response isn't a single unit managing on its own, but a network of teams, modules, and procedures that have to work together – often across regional or national borders. If you're interested in the equipment, technology, and training behind operations like these, save the date for the SAFETY & RESCUE Expo Poland – the Technology Fair for Rescue, Civil Defence, and Crisis Prevention. That's where the USAR sector, fire services, and crisis management agencies come together to show what emergency response looks like behind the scenes.
Invitation
From rubble-filled tunnels to border clearance for firefighting modules – this year's exercises show just how much depends on equipment, training, and inter-agency cooperation procedures. See it all live at the SAFETY & RESCUE Expo Poland – the Technology Fair for Rescue, Civil Defence, and Crisis Prevention – where USAR groups, fire services, and crisis management experts from across Europe come together. It's the perfect opportunity to talk about the equipment that proves itself in the conditions described above.
SAFETY & RESCUE Expo Poland 2026Footnotes
[1] Buckinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service — https://bucksfire.gov.uk/bfrs-hosts-specialist-usar-training-exercise-to-strengthen-emergency-response-partnership/[2] Remiza.pl — https://remiza.pl/cwiczenia-muszaki-2026-strazacy-na-lotnisku-w-szymanach/