Rescue with ropes

These interventions can take place in natural environments such as cliff faces, ravines, stone quarries or watercourses. Moreover, the RED teams can also provide assistance in an urban environment in case of evacuations from (sick) persons out of buildings or they can intervene on high industrial buildings or on the roof of a church. Sometimes they also search for human remains in barely accessible places at the request of the Cell Missing Persons of the DVI team (Disaster Victim Identification) of the federal police.

The members of the RED teams use climbing techniques that are based on rescue techniques in the mountains and in subterranean places, completed with years of practical experience. To join GRIMP it is necessary to have knowledge of the specific techniques for protection in case of falls and rescue operations on a higher altitude. For the practice of this discipline the members of the Civil Protection have followed trainings in France organized by specialized training corpses. The persons in charge of the team return to France every five years to follow an intensive ten-day teaching practice to keep up with the evolution of the techniques and to discover new equipment.

This intervention method requires light and compact equipment. Because of the combination of resistance, suppleness and lightness, the equipment used by the GRIMP teams allow them to quickly adapt to every situation and to safely evacuate persons. The equipment is regularly subject to strict control by registered institutions and is inspected thoroughly after each use.