‘Truly humbled’: Burnaby volunteer rescue team returns from mission in Turkey

It’s been nearly a week since members of the Burnaby Urban Search and Rescue (BUSAR) arrived back home from their rescue mission in Turkey, but the team doesn’t want people to forget that help is still desperately needed in the country and neighbouring Syria.

Shawn Mohammed, a volunteer with BUSAR and a firefighter with the Burnaby Fire Department, was part of the 10-member team that left for Adiyaman, Tukey, following the 7.8- and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes that rocked the region on Feb. 6, killing nearly 47,000 and displacing millions.

“Like anything in the world, from the rescue effort to the recovery phase, the rescue part obviously makes the news cycle … but the recovery kind of gets lost,” said Mohammed.

“I would hope that there’s still fundraising that can take place and there’s a lot of avenues that are out there. That money needs to hit those people so that they can actually start rebuilding and moving on with their lives and maybe a better life. I just hope it doesn’t stop.”

Mohammed explained that before BUSAR left for Turkey, it first reached out and made contact with officials in the country to get information about the area where it would be carrying out the rescue operations.

When the team lands in any disaster zone, the goal is to establish the right connections and set up base camp quickly, so it can get to work as soon as possible.

Mohammed said the 10-crew team was transported to the affected area, connected with the command point, and got in touch with translators to help communicate during the rescues.

“We were capitalizing on firsthand accounts and local information. So as soon as we touched down and we were able to secure our equipment and a place to … stay and rest if we had to, we were immediately boots on the ground,” he said.

“And then as the days progressed, obviously more help comes and things get more organized … and a little more smoother.”

The conditions on the ground presented many challenges to rescuers due to the immense amount of damage and rubble.

Mohammed explained that one of the greatest hurdles the BUSAR team faced was “not being able to give families, their loved ones back.”

“...And the target searches turning into recoveries as we kept moving through the rubble,” he continued. “Having [families] get that information in front of us, it was heartbreaking to see them because that hope is always there….That was hard for us to absorb, on the scene, when we wanted obviously to give them a better result.”

But there were moments of miracles during the BUSAR’s time in Adiyaman, including when they assisted in the rescue of a woman trapped in the rubble for four days.

When the BUSAR team arrived at YVR last week, Mohammed said “it was honestly overwhelming.”

The team was greeted by dozens of members from the local Turkish community who came out to share their gratitude for the rescuers.

“We did not expect that kind of embrace from the Turkish community,” said Mohammed.

“We had no clue, we were just so focused on operations day to day. But coming through those departure gates … and seeing all of the love they were giving us, we were truly humbled and just taken aback. It was… pretty much a core value in our organization of feeling very much humbled by their gratitude.”

The BUSAR was started in 2011 by Burnaby Fire Captain Mark Pullen and is made up of volunteers, the majority of whom work with the Burnaby Fire Department.

The organization is self-funded and pays for all of its own training and equipment. A GoFundMe has been started to help the BUSAR fundraise for training and equipment that will go towards future rescue operations.