Synopsis

How do you prepare for disasters? According to this team from Romania’s emergency medical service, you can prepare using computer simulations, allowing teams to practise responding to dangerous situations without actually endangering themselves. Emilia Turucz, Coordinator of the National Emergency Simulation Centre in Romania, walks us through why this software is useful to NATO during a multinational disaster response exercise held in Serbia, jointly organised by NATO’s Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Centre (EADRCC) and Serbia’s Ministry of Interior. Footage includes real-world footage of firefighters moving through a factory and participating in chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) threat training. Drone footage included.

Teaser

Find out how NATO and its partners use virtual reality to train their search and rescue teams.

Transcript

SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH Emilia Turucz, Emergency Simulation Centre, Romania “We can reconstruct actually the real-world incidents and disasters in a virtual reality, virtual space.” TEXT ON SCREEN SEARCH AND RESCUE TEAMS PRACTISE THEIR SKILLS IN VIRTUAL WORLDS TO PREPARE THEMSELVES FOR REAL INCIDENTS “It is quite close to the reality because they can see all the situation, they can feel that they are lost.” “They can see the threats around them so the pressure on the teams, it is quite big.” TEXT ON SCREEN FOR THESE FIREFIGHTERS USING A VIRTUAL WORLD TO TRAIN MEANS MORE PRACTICE WITH LESS RISK “They feel the adrenaline flash actually during the exercise. But the other way around, they are in a safe environment. TEXT ON SCREEN VR TECHNOLOGY WAS USED IN A DISASTER RELIEF EXERCISE JOINTLY ORGANISED BY NATO AND SERBIA