Emergency workers remember the ordeals of the Christchurch earthquake red zone 10 years later

It was a day of chaos, sirens, dust and tears. But then came the courage.

At 12.51 pm on February 22, 2011, a magnitude 6.2 earthquake, 6.7 kilometers southeast of the city center, caused buildings to shatter to the ground, opening the ground and changing life forever.

Within hours, firefighters, police officers, medics and the army mobilized, heading to Christchurch from across the country to help.

Ian Penn, a senior station officer at Palmerston North Fire Station, was training for this moment on the Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) team. But nothing he could have prepared for the next three weeks.

Read more: * Meltdown: CTV first responders are proud to save lives despite criticism of the rescue * Collapse: Marked by the CTV disaster, the rescuer takes a new name and a new profession * Rubble from buildings where people died in the 2011 earthquake will not be reused in anyway ‘

Warwick Smith / Stuff

Firefighter Ian Benn says the horrors of trying to recover people trapped in the collapsed CTV building are simply inexpressible.

Departing from Latimer Square in the Red District, Ben’s unit of six worked around the clock in chaos to rescue people trapped in the CTV building.

Of the 185 deaths reported by the earthquake, 115 of them were inside the six-story building that houses Canterbury TV, language and nursing schools, a medical clinic and a consulting agency.

Notorious, pancake. Trapped workers communicated with Ben and his team with cell phones and banged metal bars as his unit tried to find and retrieve them.

None of the people who contacted Ben’s team survived.

He said the horrors he witnessed as he struggled to save the trapped victims, and then recover their bodies, were unspeakable.

Often he stared at the sky. It was the only devastating space where he could gain the composure to do his job.

“I can still smell and see the things that I did. It hurts to know that you heard them, but you cannot reach them.”

In the collapsed PGC building nearby, USAR teams pulled survivors out of the rubble.

“The guys who worked at the PGC Gold Building felt they accomplished something,” Ben said.

“Most of the people who worked on the CTV Building felt they got nothing.”

Ben and his unit recover the bodies, so they can return them mourning their loved ones. It was a bleak and critical task, not the kind of family reunion they had hoped to organize.

About 30 kilometers away at Camp Burnham, Sgt. Bill Nicholson of the Central District Police Department of the Ante-Mortem was on the disaster victim identification team.

Warwick Smith / Stuff

Police Sgt. Bill Nicholson is proud of the contribution he and his team made in the aftermath of the Christchurch earthquake on February 22nd.

Because dental, fingerprint, DNA, and pathology experts compiled accurate profiles of victims during the postmortem period, the ante-mortem team collected identifying characteristics from closest relatives.

“It was my role to ensure quality assurance to make sure we were recording all the data correctly to have the best possible chance of identification,” said Nicholson.

“With the pressure that families were under the weight of wanting to get their closest relatives as quickly as possible, that was of utmost importance.”

Under intense pressure and strength during long hours, he was proud of the work his team had accomplished.

“If you’re going to live in that job, you need to put things into perspective about why you are there. If you think about it, it’ll get to you. Even though it’s disgusting, it’s part of the police.”

David Unwin / Stuff

St. John’s Shift Supervisor Chris Iowa came to applause in Christchurch, but it is the generosity of Cantabria in the midst of disaster that deserves to be celebrated.

St John Paramedic Chris Iwecow arrived in Christchurch three days after the earthquake and was greeted with a warm welcome that was hard to accept.

As he was walking to board a bus for emergency workers, the crowd applauded in appreciation.

“From our perspective, we were going to help tame the chaos, but they were just asking us what they could do for us. We were overwhelmed by the generosity of the people affected.”

Iwikawu immediately got started covering the emergency evacuations, welfare centers and 111 calls across the city.

The broken buildings he witnessed during his six-day mission remained with him.

The experience was disorienting, as the city was robbed of its landmarks and major transportation routes.

Soldiers lined the dead-end streets to protect the red zone, while others worked to provide relief to residents without water or electricity or those trying to flee the city.

Supplied

Kimi and Clint Grant, New Zealand Army Soldiers, supported the response after the massive earthquake in Christchurch.

Soldiers from Linton Military Camp, Lt. 1 Officer Clint Grant, and his wife, NCO 2, Kimmy Grant, were based in Burnham when the shaking began.

When they were sent to town to help, their home became a haven for 20 relatives who fled their homes in New Brighton.

Kimmy Grant said they were happy to help in any way they could, but it was unfortunate to see the city crumbling around them.

“A lot of people got scared, and we felt it too, but we had to keep going and do what we need to do.

“A lot of people felt comfortable just seeing someone in uniform.”

While firefighters, police, ambulance and military personnel have been honored for their service, Iwikkau said others deserve recognition as well, such as civil defense emergency teams and extensive support networks.

“It’s the fish pond effect,” said Iwekau. “Everyone sees where it’s strewn, but it’s rippling across the country.”

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