Hyper Rescue Protects Tokyo Residents
Specialists with Unique Skills and Equipment
The Fire Rescue Task Forces, also known as Hyper Rescue, are stationed at 5 of the 10 fire districts' headquarters to respond quickly to large-scale disasters within the jurisdiction of the Tokyo Fire Department.
The catalyst for their creation came from the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake that hit western Japan in 1995. The quake caused not only fires but also other rescue situations, including collapsed buildings and roads, that conventional firefighting forces could not easily address. It became clear that advanced units equipped with specialized knowledge and skills as well as special heavy machinery and life detectors were needed.
Hyper Rescue, abbreviated as HR, was established the following year. The unit we interviewed was the Fire Rescue Task Forces from the Sixth Fire District Headquarters, or 6HR for short. It is the fourth HR unit and was formed in 2007.
A Variety of Training
6HR has about 60 members. They are divided into 3 teams with about 20 members each and work 24 hours a day in shifts. Fire Sergeant Taguchi Tadaaki explains what sets the unit apart from others: "6HR has its headquarters in Adachi City and its district is surrounded by the Arakawa River to the north and the Sumida River to the south, so water rescue is also part of our duties. A big difference from other units is that we have watercraft systems such as jet skis, advanced lifeboats which can hold 20 people and be used to rescue people in wheelchairs, and urethane boats which do not risk deflating even at disaster sites littered with debris."
The unit is also equipped with highly advanced rescue equipment such as underground sound detectors and electromagnetic life detectors, as well as heavy machinery that typical fire stations do not have. The members are required to have various qualifications to handle these types of equipment, and they train daily between dispatches, simulating all kinds of disaster situations.
In fact, they conducted water rescue training in the Sumida River on the day of the interview. One member played the part of a drowning victim and two rescuers on a jet ski approached him. One of the rescuers dived into the river and pulled the victim up onto a rescue sled attached to the back of the jet ski. It requires a high level of skill to quickly approach and rescue a victim amid a strong wind and waves, using a jet ski while keeping enough distance not to hit them.
A Dispatch Order Mid-Interview
Taguchi has been a firefighter for 15 years and a Hyper Rescue member for 3 years. One incident that stands out in his memory is the day after the Noto Peninsula Earthquake when two planes collided on the runway at Tokyo International Airport (Haneda). "There was a risk of explosion, so I can't say I wasn't afraid, but I kept a safe distance, spraying water for all I was worth," he recounted.
While such a big incident is rare, 6HR receives several dispatch orders a day. Even during the interview, an order to rescue a child trapped in an elevator of an apartment building came in.
A Growing Need for English Skill
Hyper Rescue units are normally dispatched within the districts where they are stationed and do not cross the border of Tokyo. In the event of a major disaster, however, they are sometimes dispatched to other prefectures as members of units known as the Emergency Fire Response Teams. 6HR has also been dispatched to other areas to deal with disasters such as the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, the torrential rain in the Kanto and Tohoku regions in 2015, and the Noto Peninsula Earthquake this year.
Some of them are also registered as members of the Japan Disaster Relief Team, which is organized by the government and dispatched during major disasters overseas at the request of the affected countries. 6HR members have provided assistance after numerous major earthquakes, including the ones in South Island, New Zealand in 2011, Nepal in 2015, central Mexico in 2017, eastern Taiwan in 2018, and southeastern Turkey in 2023.
Specialized interpreters accompany them in such missions, but what about missions in Tokyo? It is a tourist hub and foreigners who do not speak Japanese might get caught in a disaster. Could language barriers complicate their rescue efforts? Fire Lieutenant Suzuki Takahiro, chief of 6HR's Special Task Force, explains: "A translation app that can handle 30 languages is available in each team, and communication support boards using illustrations are available at each fire station for smooth communication with people from other countries."
In addition, 6HR regularly conducts joint exercises with rescue teams from South Korea and other Asian countries. Experiencing such exercises may be helpful in rescuing foreign visitors in Japan.
Lastly, Taguchi emphasizes the importance of raising disaster prevention awareness on a daily basis, saying "Headquarters and fire stations, including 6HR, provide many opportunities for the public to see our training. I think you can raise your awareness by simply visiting any of them and observing us."
Fire Rescue Task Forces, the Sixth Fire District Headquarters
