VOLUNTARY RESCUE UNION OF THIRA

The Voluntary Paramedic Union of Thira exists since 2007, consisting of 50 registered members, of which 25 are active and they aim to cover various services, such as First Aids, Rescue, Prevention and Treatments due to Disasters; the average age of participants is around 30 years old, while 30% of the active members are women and 70% are men. This union is the most known volunteer rescue team of the island.

In 2010 it was officially entered in the civil protection register. Its primary activity is to rescue those  who are in a state of emergency, such as accidents and natural disasters. Furthermore, they deal with the briefing and the training of the locals on first aid issues and their main objective is the reduction of victims in degraded situations and the dispassionate treatment of these events by themselves. They are involved with other actions, such as planting trees, cleaning the coast with underwater cleaning, as well as organizing events about the protection of the environment, volunteering etc.

The volunteers are divided into three subgroups, according to their interests, which are:

1. Environmental education and protection group,

   which is responsible for the cleaning of the beaches and planting trees. In addition, they attend lectures regarding environmental protection.

2.    Climbing and natural disasters confrontation group,

    which is responsible for the education of people on the basic rules of climbing & mountain search and rescue

3.    Diving group

     which deals with the cleaning of the seabeds, underwater search and rescue & the hauling of bulky objects from the seabed.

In a state of emergency the union will arrive directly at the place where an accident occurred, fully-equipped with the necessary sanitary and technical rescue equipment, of course, in cooperation with the relevant government agencies such as the Fire Department, the Greek Police, the Port Authorities, the General Secretariat for Civil protection and the Greek Air Force. They, also, help individuals when in need.

Since 2011, after an offer of the Municipality of Thira, the Voluntary Rescue Union of Thira occupies a ground floor building 40m2 at Emporio. Its members have been trained in exercises about preparation and alerting, as well as various seminars, many of which were financed with  their own personal expenses. Some of these seminars are:

• BLS / AED, (CPR & use of automatic external defibrillator)

• Climbing Training (Greek Mountaineering/ Climbing Federation)

• Seminar about first aids from the Red Cross

• Seminar on the Basic Extinguishing Principles, from the fire department of Thera

• Advanced Diving & Rescue Diving (by certified diving centers).

Their equipment is divided into:

• Climbing (donated by Nomikou family & Id Loula and Evangelos Nomikos’ family).

• Healthcare (Economic aid by the Municipality of Thira).

• Clothing (Koiliakoudi- Roussos Quarries)

In addition to the activities above, other activities are, also, organized which are open to the general public, such as:

• Organizing of first aid courses for the island residents

•  Participation of the union members in blood donations

•  Service of a voluntary medical office

•  Gathering of clothing and food

Finally, the union has other future goals, which are:

• Fire Brigade

• Lifesaving

• First Aids

• Dealing with potential natural disasters (earthquakes & volcanic eruptions)

•  Updating schools for the environment & incentives for motivating young people in the voluntary sector

• Organization of seasonal seminars regarding the purpose of each group (e.g. diving courses in summer, first aids in spring etc.).